Drops of The Scepter Hero
by OddEyeVibes
Summary: Former idol, Mio Tanji, finds herself in another world alongside four others and is tasked with stopping the Waves of Calamity. Anything else? Yes, also play the messiah role for a pagan religion in this other world and deal with the problems that come with it from corruption to cults to baby-making...yep.
1. A Royal Summoning

What can I say, I have a thing for down on their luck anime boys. This is going to be my first slow burn attempt. I know the whole extra fifth hero thing is something a lot of people do so I thank you for checking mine out. I also have this uploaded on Archive so don't worry if you see a copy lurking, that's still me.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my OC and the other madness I made up.

Trigger Warning: Suicide mention

* * *

'I can't take this anymore…'

"Mio?"

The sound of her father calling out to her from the other side of the bathroom door was fading out, simply getting quieter as her vision faded out and her world went black.

…

After what seemed like an eternity, a bright light flashed before her eyes as she started feeling the sensation of falling.

'Huh?'

*_SLAM_*

"Ow…"

She felt the cold feeling of a marble floor beneath her as the pain of slamming into the floor began to fade away.

"Ohh….that fucking hurt…"

The first thing she noticed out of the ordinary was that she was holding onto a scepter. It certainly looked like ones that magical girls had but more of a regal gothic look that gave off this foreboding feeling.

It was a small-sized one with a giant ball at the tip that felt as cold as a gem but she couldn't tell which since it was coated with what seemed to be black paint. While the paint was deep and dark she could still see a symbol etched into the ball which revealed the natural gold color of the scepter. Etched in the paint, was the simple symbol of a liquid droplet.

'That's a pretty cool design… but what the hell could that mean? Is that meant to be water?'

Looking down beneath her, on the floor, was an intricately drawn symbol that was no doubt used for magic.

"Ah! It worked!" A frantic masculine voice shouted.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking over to her left. Not only was she here but so were four others, all guys. Each of them was holding a weapon too. One with a shield, the other a spear, another a sword and the last one a bow.

The one wielding the spear was a tall blonde who had his hair pulled up into a ponytail. The shield wielder was about average height with scruffy black hair and a green hoodie. The other black-haired boy looked a bit more refined and had his hair down. The last one seemed to be the shortest of the guys. Another blonde that even seemed younger than the others.

'Am I the only girl here?' She thought to herself.

The people in front of her were all wearing what looked to be ritual robes. The one in the middle pulled down his hood and clasped his hands together, pleading.

"O' Five Cardinal Heroes of Old, please save our world!" He begged.

She and the other four were clearly confused.

"Uh…" The tall blonde was dumbfounded.

"Save your world...from what?" She asked.

The man began explaining their current situation. "While I'm certain you are all very taken aback by your circumstances, time runs short for all of us. Within our country of Melromarc, vicious demons in large numbers have crawled out from a materialized dimensional crack and are exposing everyone to great danger." The man continued rambling on. "Our country's knights and adventurers barely managed to eliminate the first wave of demons."

"Waves?"

"But the hourglass is already indicating that the next Wave of Calamity will soon be upon us."

"Wave of Calamity? Demons? If you're best can't even handle that what makes you think we can?" She asked.

"Well, because you're the Five Cardinal Heroes. The ones who wield the legendary weapons. The Sword, the Bow, the Spear, the Shield, and the Scepter. It's your destiny to fight the Waves of Calamity."

"We _are_ gonna be compensated for this right?" The ponytailed blonde asked, pointing his weapon towards the hooded people. "After all, you brought us to this world without our consent and expect us to fight your battles for you."

The refined boy and the shorter blonde agreed. The girl nodded.

"I don't mean to sound like a bitch but they're right. This whole c_alamity _thing sounds like something serious, I'd hope to be somewhat taken care of while we're here if we _have_ to do this." She placed her free hand on her hip as she playfully twirled the scepter in her hand. "We are gonna go back right?"

The man was getting nervous. "While I'm sure you all still have questions, we wish for you to meet our king."

The hooded figures began exiting the room and the five "heroes" followed behind them.

'Maybe I'm in some sort of coma. If that's the case then how long until I wake—' "ow!"

Not really paying attention, she didn't notice that the scruffy black-haired guy in front of her stopped walking to look out the window.

He turned around with a worried expression. "Ah! I'm so sorry."

"No, it's my fault. I was out of it."

'Ah, she's kinda cute in the light.' He thought. He unknowingly stared at her longer than normal. Meanwhile, she was becoming uncomfortable with the silent staring.

"Hey guys," the two looked up to the other three, who had stopped to wait for them. "What are you doing? You act like you've never been outside of Japan before."

The scruff in front of her rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, I guess I'm guilty in that department."

The black-haired girl smirked. "Well technically, now you have." She walked past him up the stairs.

They had finally arrived in the throne room. There was currently no one but guards, a few well-dressed people and of course, the King himself, who sat pretty on his throne right next to an empty one.

"Welcome brave Cardinal Heroes! I am King Aultcray Melromarc, the 32nd ruler of Melromarc! It is an honor to have you in my throne room!" The King's voice echoed through the mostly quiet room and spacious room. "I have heard your concerns and promise you: should you save this glorious country, you'll be duly compensated in turn."

All of the heroes smiled.

"You will now state your names so I may have the honor of addressing you properly!"

The first person to speak was the refined black-haired one. "My name is Amaki Ren! Age 16, I'm a high schooler!"

"My name is Kawasumi Itsuki! I'm 17, also a high schooler!"

'Oh wow, I guess I was wrong about him being the youngest of us.' She thought.

This time the tall blonde spoke up. "I'm Kitamura Motoyasu! I'm a 21-year-old university student!"

Everyone's attention turned to her. "My name is Tanji Mio. I'm 21 and I'm…" she paused. "Also a university student."

Mio looked to the scruff next to her but before he could say anything the King spoke up again.

"Hm...Ren, Itsuki, Motoyasu and Mio…"

"Um...I haven't introduced myself yet."

The King looked over to the Shield guy and Mi could've sworn she had seen a hint of a glare. "Ah yes...the Hero of the Shield...your name?"

"Um, my name is Iwatani Naofumi! I'm a 20-year-old university student!"

Something seemed off to Mio. For as important as all five of them supposedly were to the country's survival, why try to leave one out? Judging from the look on Naofumi's face, he noticed this too.

One of the hooded men from earlier spoke up. "If you would please check your statuses."

"Huh?"

"Statuses?"

Ren looked over to the others noticing their confusion. "You mean you haven't noticed?" The four turned to look at him. "In the corner of your field of vision, there's some little icon. Just try focusing on it."

'Focus on it? How the f-' Mio looked at the icon and began squinting at it and before she knew it, a whole list of things popped up in front of her. As they did, the King explained their current situation about the waves. The first one being so devastating that it was a miracle that all of the knights and adventurers were able to repel it back.

Once the first wave had subsided, Melromarc went to work on summoning the heroes. Which leads them to where they are now.

_Name: Tanji Mio_

_Scepter Hero _

_Age: 21_

_Gender: Female_

_Equipment: Small Scepter (Legendary Weapon)_

_Level: 1_

"Woah, cool! I'm like a legit magic hero!" She gushed.

Naofumi slouched. "Ah...lucky."

Mio moved over to look at Naofumi's status, her excitement still present on her face.

"I mean, a shield's pretty much a defensive weapon. I'm not gonna be any good for offensive combat."

"Well, it's not that big of a deal. You probably come with a lot of defensive skills so it'd be useful for at the very least me and Itsuki there."

"Haaa?! What about me and Ren?" Motoyasu asked.

Itsuki smiled. "Well, technically, Mio and I would most likely be more stationary whereas you and Ren would need to be more active in order to fight monsters."

Motoyasu sighed as he thought about it. "I guess that makes sense." The blonde then smirked before running over to Mio, slightly pushing Naofumi out of the way in the process. He grabbed onto Mio's hands. "But you don't have to worry, Mio, I wouldn't let anything happen to you!"

The three other boys exchanged glances with each other while Mio was instantly made uncomfortable by the sudden contact and his close proximity. "That's...nice but...personal space?"

"Right! How rude of me."

King Aultcray loudly cleared his throat, catching the attention of the five heroes. "Unfortunately, partying together is not an option."

"Huh?"

"The Cardinal Heroes cannot group together as it would hinder the performances of each hero. We need you all to be at your strongest when the next wave hits." He stated.

Naofumi looked disappointed. "Well, that sucks."

"Wait a minute," Everyone's attention turned to Mio, especially the King. "How does that make sense? We're supposed to fight the Waves of Disaster-"

"Calamity"

"Synonyms!-but we're not allowed to party together? Seems kind of...stupid, don't you think?" The others nodded in agreement. "What's up with that?"

The King stayed silent as he looked at Mio. The Scepter hero could've sworn she saw a slight scowl directed towards her. "Well, the Legendary Weapons are often times of mystery to us. We don't really know the specifics of why such a rule exists despite the duty of the heroes."

The Scepter Hero was silent as she stared back at the King, almost like she was sizing him up and trying to figure out if that was true by attempting to intimidate him.

However, when he showed no signs of budging, she relented with a 'hmph'.

"We do have a solution to this issue. By tomorrow we will gather some of Melromarc's most remarkable adventurers to aid you in strengthening your weapons."

"Very well," Ren's voice was as stoic as ever. "And you give your word that we'll be compensated for this, right?"

The creepy looking advisor standing next to the King spoke up. "Yes, of course! Once all of the waves are contained, you all will be rewarded handsomely. "

"Good to hear. Just don't think you can tame us."

Itsuki nodded in agreement. "We won't allow you to look down on us."

Motoyasu nodded while Mio tilted her head in their direction, as to say 'what they said'. While Naofumi simply agreed out loud.

The King spoke up once more. "For now, you may stay a night in the castle and will be accommodated appropriately."

Though the heroes were escorted to their rooms for the night. They ended up grouping up together in one of their rooms to discuss what they knew at the moment. Motoyasu had made himself comfortable on the bed while the others were seated at the small dining table.

"I guess being legendary heroes comes with its perks. The lady who showed us to our rooms was kinda cute."

Mio leaned back against the luxury seat she was on. "Yeah, I could honestly get used to this type of treatment. Plus, the food was pretty good. I'll just have to get used to eating middle age style meals."

"With a menu like this, doesn't this kind of remind of a video game?" Naofumi asked as he closed out his status menu.

"That's because it is!" The tall blonde sat up. "It's just like that game Emerald Online!"

"Never heard of it."

"What?! Seriously, it's huge!"

Itsuki piped into the conversation. "What are you talking about? This isn't some online game, it's a new console game I've been playing called Dimension Web."

"What about you, Mio?" The Spear Hero asked.

The Scepter Hero shook her head. "Well there was one game but it's a way prettier to look at than this place so far. To be honest, I mostly stick with sci-fi MMOs."

"You're all wrong anyway. Everything about this place is identical to a VRMMO called Brave Star Online."

Motoyasu sighed and stood up. "Let's sort this out then. Ren, do you really mean an actual literal VRMMO?"

"Yeah."

The blonde then looked to the rest of them. "You guys do get what he means by that too, right?"

"There was a sci-fi game I know of that experimented with it a bit."

"I've only read about it light novels."

"I've really only seen it in an anime."

"Now to be sure, let's compare general knowledge."

What was to be found out? Well, not only was the previously thought to be reserved for fantasy media occurrence known as being transported to another world possible, but the idea of multiple universes had come to fruition as all five of the heroes were from alternate Japans.

"I'm kind of having an existential crisis right now." Mio was feeling somewhat defeated.

"Different Japans...and none of them the same."

Motoyasu rubbed his head and sighed. "I had at least thought we'd be from different eras but different universes all together?"

"I can't believe you guys have played games like this world. I don't understand how a game like that couldn't possibly exist in my world."

The three guys looked at each other before looking down at Naofumi.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just assumed it's because you're the Shield Hero."

Naofumi looked at Itsuki in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, the Shield class is usually the weakest class in the game for me."

"What?! What about you three?!"

Motoyasu and Ren nodded. Mio felt bad and began scratching the back of his head. "Well, I've never really heard of a Shield only class to begin with. It seems kind of bad gameplay-wise. It does seem kind of unfair that you only really have a shield and not even a small sword or whatever."

The unfortunate Shield Hero slouched. "Great…"

'Maybe I said too much to make him feel bad?' "Um...it probably won't be so bad, right? You'll get a nice party of people that can fight for you, right? And you'll just defend them." She offered the defeated guy a warming smile.

It did seem to make him feel somewhat better. He perked up and smiled at Mio. "You're right! I'm sure everything will work out!"

* * *

And then it didn't…

So if you wanted to know, I'm mixing both the manga and the anime.

This chapter was short I know. We'll get to see more of Mio and her role as the Scepter Hero when we meet her party. I was originally just gonna make her a typical mage type hero because I didn't know how people would feel about tweaking some of the universe lore for OC reasons but I got really interested in expanding on it so it grew from there.


	2. Gathering of Heroes

In today's chapter, Mio and Naofumi, other with the others, hang for a bit before the gathering of heroes that will take place after breakfast.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shield Hero or any of its canon characters, I only own my OCs and concepts.

* * *

_Later that night_….

As the summoned Cardinals Heroes were preparing to sleep, the news of their arrival was quickly spreading throughout the kingdom of Melromarc. Only time would tell for how long it would take for the news to get to the other kingdoms...or how furious everyone would be when finding out that King Aultcray summoned all five heroes to Melromarc, a decision that would no doubt cast suspicious judgment from other kingdoms and have the royal family labeled as selfish.

Many in Melromarc were already quietly up in arms. Obviously, the town that celebrated three out of five of the heroes would have no issues with the Bow, Sword, and Spear hero being there. But the Shield and Scepter hero? That was a different matter entirely.

To Melromarc, the Shield hero was dead to them when he sided with the Demi-humans. Finding people that supported Shield Heros was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The Scepter Hero, on the other hand, was regarded as an insidious heathen who would come to towns and convert people to debauchery and sin. People loyal to them were becoming more and more common within the country, and many people weren't happy about it.

Much like everything else, only time will tell what will happen this go-round.

[][][][]

_House of Scathanna Potions_

_Numb Juice_

_Does what it sounds like it does and eases the physical pain the drinker may be feeling to the point of not feeling anything at all. The strength of the side effects may vary._

[][][][]

"_Mio, you don't understand-" _

"_No, I understand perfectly! You and everyone else left me to drown. You're so obsessed with this that you think we should stand by and be treated like playthings for that bastard. Has our friendship meant nothing to you these past years?!" _

"_...Mio-"_

"_Go rot, Miki! Have a fun career!"_

[][][][]

"It's going to be alright...those are just stories...stories meant to scare you."

Outside of Mio's temporary room stood a timid maid. The one who, by her standards, was unfortunate enough to be chosen to wake the Scepter Hero. Of course, once her fellow staff members heard that, they wasted no time in filling her head with all the little fables about the hero they could remember.

One about how the original ate the corpses of the sick to get her power. Another about how there was one Scepter Hero who slaughtered a village over a small skirmish. Another in which a Scepter Hero turned an entire noble family into cows and sold them off. Another that talked about how a Scepter Hero would eat the hearts of her lovers and so on and so on. Regardless, it painted a picture of an easily angered cannibal witch.

It was understandable that she was nervous. To her, one wrong move or one bad thing said would mean the end of her life or...her human life, right?

These were the thoughts running through her mind as she lightly knocked on the door to Mio's room. "H-hello? Madame Scepter Hero?" She spoke as calmly and quietly as she could. As expected, there was no answer. "Damn it." She muttered quietly before her hand reached for the door.

She carefully and slowly opened it, cringing at the sound of the age-old wooden door making an agonizing noise. She also hated that the lights from the hallway were gradually illuminating Mio's bed. 'What if she's not a morning person?' She thought.

Regardless, the woman was put at ease at the sight of a sleeping Mio, buried in blankets, with her clothes from the previous day sloppily tossed on the bed bench at the edge of the large bed.

With some of her anxiety eased, the handmaiden walked into the room, making sure not to trip or even make the slightest sounds other than the slight creaking of the floor which was thankfully, for her, muffled by the carpet.

Once she was standing beside Mio's sleeping form, she took a deep breath and shook the sleeping hero. "Madame Scepter Hero?"

"Mmmm."

"It's time to wake up. The royal family is having breakfast prepared for all the heroes."

"Mmhmm."

"Uh...there are a handful of adventurers arriving at the castle today. It'd be best not to keep them waiting...the fate our country _is_ at stake."

"Mmmhmm."

"Umm…surely you must be starving."

"Mmmmm." Mio turned her head away from the sound of the woman's voice, facing the direction of the covered window.

The meek handmaiden sighed. There was only one thing left to do. As she approached the window, she took deep breaths and rapidly shook her hands.

She grabbed the thick rope and after a three-count, yanked it, letting the sunshine crash into the bedroom which quickly garnered a response from Mio who groaned and threw her head underneath the pile of pillows.

The aggressive groan causing the maid to duck out of view by the bed with an 'eek'.

"Whaaaat?!" Mio groaned.

After a short pause, the maid peeked out from her hiding spot. "Um...M-Madame Scepter Hero, there's a breakfast being prepared for you and all the other heroes. T-to prep you for your journeys."

With a sigh, Mio moved her head from under the pillows and squinted out the window. The sight of a medieval kingdom had her stunned as she recalled the events of yesterday.

'So I _did_ get transported to another world...oh no…' her head dropped. "Ah fuck." She muttered.

The maid jumped slightly, her paranoid senses hearing Mio's little outburst. "Madame?"

Mio looked over to see the cowering woman.

"Is...everything alright? W-were the sheets not to your liking? If so I can have a talk with the others about it."

"No, I'm—"

"Was the bed too lumpy? I'm terribly sorry about that but it's been ages since some of the guest rooms were used. If you have any suggestions, we'll keep them in mind!"

The rambling was beginning to get on Mio's nerves. "It's not—"

"If you're worried about the cuisine I can assure you, the food here in Melromarc is quite delicious. Some might even say even more so than Oilean Pearl's food."

Mio huffed, throwing the covers off of her which the maid took as terrible sign.

"NOTTHATTHERESANYTHINGWRONGFOODFROMTHERE! IKNOWIT'S-"

Before the woman could say anything more, Mio had approached her as quickly and calmly as possible and held onto both her upper arms, ending her rambling. To Mio, the woman's silence meant she was calm but in reality, the handmaiden was too terrified to move.

"Relax...where am I?" She asked her.

"Y-you...you're in the kingdom of Melromarc, Madame Scepter Hero."

Mio had a pensive look on her face. "For the...Catastrophe Against Humanity, right?"

"...the _Waves of Calamity_? Yes."

"Right." Mio sighed, letting the girl go, casually walking over to her pile of clothes. "So this is all real, huh?" She asked herself quietly as she unknowingly bit her nails. 'I was so sure this was a dream or some coma but now...am I really stuck in another world?'

The handmaiden inched closer, "Madame? Are you ok?"

The heroine was snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah…" she lied. "So what's this about breakfast?"

"Oh, right! The King wants each of the heroes prepared for the start of your journeys. So there's a breakfast being prepared for you and the others."

"Well, if the food was anything like last night's dinner, I should be good."

The handmaiden smiled... "Well, I don't mean to rush you or anything but I believe the other heroes are already on their way to the dining hall. I'll leave you now." The woman bowed and left the room.

Now alone, Mio surveyed the bedroom she was, it wasn't her cozy bedroom, not at all. Her computer with the cute little cat ear headsets, her barely filled bookshelf, the pile of clothes stashed in the corner of the room rather than in a drawer, the covered mirror, the kiddie Dino stickers on the ceiling that's been up there since she was 8. Nothing. None of that was anywhere to be found.

Mio felt heart pumping faster as she took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes. "Ok Mio...relax...you're gonna close your eyes...and wake up in your room...or...in the bathtub."

1

2

3

'Open!'

….

Nothing. She was still in the fancy looking bedroom, with a view of the fantasy kingdom in front of her.

Her leg bounced slightly as she was forced to accept the truth…

"All of this...is truly fucking real."

[][][][]

The meek handmaiden from earlier had arrived back in the dining hall. Surprisingly, nothing bad happened. She wasn't eaten and she wasn't turned into an animal. 'That went well,' She thought. 'better than I expected.'

Despite nothing happening and Mio not being as scary as the stories made her out to be, with each step away from the Scepter Hero's room, she could feel her anxiety slipping away as if she were dropping bread crumbs on the floor.

The dining hall was the one the royal family often used for throwing celebrations. The royal family wouldn't be joining them as they had other matters to attend to, so it would only be the heroes tended to by the staff.

Once she arrived in the dining hall, she was greeted to the sight of the Sword & Bow Hero sitting at the prepared table with empty chairs across from them. The two servants that were assigned to them were standing by. She joined their side with her hands folded in front of her.

The other two glanced at her before looking at one of the empty chairs.

"Rita…where's the Scepter Hero?" The tall male servant asked.

"Oh! I woke her up, she should be here soon."

The other two exchanged glances and a groan before looking back at the now named Rita. "Rita…" the other handmaiden asked. "Where do you think Lucille and Tirion are?"

Confused by the question, Rita looked around the room and saw that the two assigned to the Shield & Spear Heroes were nowhere to be seen. It took a moment before…

_Ding_

"Ohhhh…."

"Right."

In this midst of her gradually growing anxiety earlier, Rita had forgotten the second part of her duty. Not only was she supposed to wake the Scepter Hero…but she was supposed to escort her here too.

[][][][]

As if being in another world to fight a world-ending catastrophe wasn't stressful enough, imagine spending your first day in said world lost in a giant castle.

Well, Mio didn't have to imagine. She was furious that the maid who woke her never told her where the dining hall was. All that fury left quickly to focus on the most likely path to the room...

"_What_ is the point of having 50 fucking rooms in one place for one fucking family! I swear if the royal family doesn't consist of 30 damn children and a few concubines, I am burning this place down."

And whinging...lots of whinging.

With her Scepter dangling in her hand, she was currently walking through the halls of the castle where all the decor seemed to blend together after a few minutes of walking. There was no one to direct her and if there was then she must've been constantly _just_ missing them.

"I swear France had the right idea because this shit...is ridiculous!" She was panicking. "No one needs a home with this many rooms and halls and height unless they're popping out a hotel's worth of kids."

She soon stopped in an intersection of hallways with a crossroads. There were no servants that could help her to be seen anywhere.

"Why didn't that girl tell me where the dining room was? Or at least take me there?" Mio whined, with a stomp. "This sucks...I'm hungry…I'm lost...I wanna go home...and eat Oreos...but I'm stuck here…" She looked around the hall at the grey walls and the paintings of rivers and all other types of landscapes before lifting her Scepter to get a good look at it.

She stared down the etched in droplet symbol. "How big are the odds that my magic has a GPS spell, huh?" She held the scepter out in front of her with her arm straight. "Scepter...find the dining hall."

…nothing.

"By the...power...invested in me by...whoever summoned me...I command you to find the dining hall."

…...nope.

_Sigh_. "Fine...abracadabra?"

…

"Of course not, what the hell is the scepter for then? Hitting people?"

"Maybe it turns into a bigger weapon-"

"AAAH!"

The sudden voice caused Mio to jump a few feet from her previous spot to see Naofumi, the Shield Hero, standing right behind her. Once she saw it was a somewhat familiar face, her tension eased.

"Jeez! Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?"

The Shield Hero held his hands up in defense. "No, nothing like that! I'm...this is a little embarrassing but…" he scratched the back of his head. "I'm a little lost."

"Oh...really?"

"Yeah. And judging by your little..." he looked at the black Scepter in Mio's hands. "_thing _here, I guess you are too."

"I—uhh…" Mio glanced down at the scepter before crossing her arms. "I was just seeing if this thing even worked."

Naofumi raised his eyebrows as if asking _well, does it? _

"No, it doesn't. Not at all. It didn't even glow or shake even a tiny bit."

"That's weird. I was sure you'd be some sort of magic hero. Maybe you're just a healing hero, so most of your spells are focused on that."

"I hope not. I hate being the healer."

"I guess it's demanding in different universes too."

Mio let out a single _ha_. "Yeah."

There was an awkward silence before one of them spoke up again.

"I guess we should find the dining hall. Everyone is probably wondering where we are."

Mio nodded and began walking straight ahead with Naofumi trailing behind. "Would've been better if the lady that woke me up told me where the room was."

"You too? The woman that woke me up seemed like she hated me for some reason."

"Was she that mean?"

"It wasn't really her being mean but...the way she talked to me. Like I was a bother."

"That's weird."

"Yeah...you know what's weirder? I feel like it's mostly because of the Shield."

"Is it because of yesterday?" Naofumi glanced in her direction. "I noticed that when we were introducing ourselves, the King skipped over you. I thought maybe it was old age at first but considering he needs all five of us to _save the world_ and whatnot, it seemed odd to forget you."

"Right! I thought that was weird. Then when we were all talking in Motoyasu's room, it didn't make me feel any better when the others said that the Shield class was the least popular."

"Aww" Mio giggled, patting him on the shoulder with a smile. "Don't be down about it. I'm sure you'll be a great Shield Hero."

"Thanks, Mio. And I'm sure you'll make a great Scepter Hero. I wonder if the whole separate parties thing really does apply to you. Wouldn't it make sense for the healer to have to party up with someone?"

"None of it makes sense but I'm just going with it for now. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. Though I would prefer being able to party-up with you guys. Between you and me, I'm not that good with new people."

"I wouldn't have been able to tell, you seem really open."

"It's less of a being open thing and more of a lesser of two social evils thing. Like, even though I don't know you like that, in comparison to the people I'm going to have to meet eventually, I'm comfortable with you."

The Shield Hero felt his face heating up. Of course, he knew Mio didn't mean that romantically but he was never really complimented by a girl like that. Not that they despised him, he was just never on their radars. Even if the compliment felt sort of backhanded, it still felt nice.

"You're nice too...for someone I don't know too well."

"Aww, thanks."

The two continued walking through the halls of the castle, entertaining each other with small talk as they searched. "So what do you think the adventurers are gonna be like?"

"I have no freaking clue. I'm kinda hoping I get some big berserker dude on my team."

"Berserker?"

Mio's face beamed with joy. "Yeah, before coming here. I played this one game where they had these big dudes that were like, SUPER OP. Like even if they were at level 5, level 17 monsters couldn't touch them."

"I can't see how that wouldn't get nerfed so fast."

"You'd think but they're still pretty powerful! What about you? Who you hoping for?"

Naofumi thought about it for a bit with a hand on his chin before looking at his shield. "Since I'm mostly a shield fighter, I guess out of everything I hope I have really good offensive fighters. Like swordsmen."

"Maybe not a swordsman."

"Why not?"

"They're just so...basic. It's like playing some fantasy or sci-fi game and then choosing to be human. It's so boring."

Naofumi chuckled. "I don't think so. I mean if you don't make your human look cool then yeah but I don't mind being human."

"Sounds like humans are the last resort for you? What type of race do you like playing as?" She asked, leaning in with a smug look.

"Hmm, Demons!"

"Ooh! That's interesting. Why?"

"Why not? They usually have the most useful powers and the coolest designs. Dwarves probably come in second. There's something...I don't know, cool about their whole blacksmithing culture." Mio noted the joy that covered her new friend's face before he looked to her. "What about you?"

"Orcs! Definitely!"

The Shield Hero was stunned. "Orcs? Really? It seems weird to like default villains of fantasy."

"Orcs are only default villains because they're meant to be the _different_ ones. I think they're cool!"

Naofumi thought on it. "I guess in their own way. A little too brutish for my style."

Mio was pumped with excitement "Ehhh?! Are you kidding? Orc culture is so much more interesting than the culture of other races. What's typical fashion for them, the type of deities they pray to. What passes as elite in their society. It's just much different from other typical fantasy races! Plus they pretty much exist in sci-fi MMOs too. There's always a race that's pretty Orc like! Ooh! I hope there's Orcs here—"

"NAOFUMI! MIO!" There was a booming shout behind the two as they turned to see the Spear hero himself jogging up to them alongside a nameless brunette handmaiden. "I'll tell you, it's real nice to see some familiar faces this morning." The blonde still retained his casual calm demeanor. "You guys heading to this breakfast?"

The tall hero squeezed himself in between the two then as he threw his arms around their shoulders.

"Uh...yeah. Are you just waking up?"

Motoyasu chuckled. "Don't judge too harshly but I'm not _that_ much of a morning person. Ren and Itsuki aren't with you guys?"

"No," Naofumi answered. "They're probably already at breakfast. It's probably easier for them to get up so early considering they're still teenagers."

Mio let out a sigh of relief. "That's one thing I don't miss about school, waking up early."

"Yeah! Though I do for some of my classes. Maybe this whole hero thing will be just the break I needed. Today's gonna be great, I can feel it!" He looked at both Naofumi and Mio with a big grin on his face and the two couldn't help but smile back, being influenced by his happy-chill demeanor.

[][][][]

The grand wooden double doors of the dining hall had opened and the sound echoed throughout the mostly empty room, alerting the servants as well as Itsuki and Ren. Both teen heroes looking over to spot Mio, Motoyasu, and Naofumi being guided by a servant.

Itsuki glared at the three as his leg bounced under the table. He was trying to keep a mature and calm facade much like Ren's but having to wait was clearly getting the better of the 17-year-old.. "It's about time you showed up,'' there was some clear annoyance in his voice. "Where have you three been?"

Mio shrugged her shoulders. "We got lost." She sat down in the middle with Naofumi and Motoyasu taking seats beside her.

"So," Motoyasu smiled looking at the two younger heroes, "what's for breakfast?"

"We wouldn't know," Ren answered. "We had to wait until you three arrived before they served us."

Naofumi was the next to speak up. "Really? Sorry about that. We really were lost."

"How? You guys had a servant guiding you, right?"

"Not really." Mio yawned. "If Motoyasu didn't show up when he did, Naofumi and I would still be wandering about."

"That's strange. It doesn't make any sense for you two not to have escorts."

"Well, doesn't really matter now, does it?" Motoyasu flagged down the idle servants to bring them their breakfast.

Carts of food were wheeled out for the five heroes. It seemed that the King and the kitchen staff were determined to make sure that their saviors were well-fed before their journeys, presenting them with a fine buffet of medieval European style cuisine.

An array of vegetables, meat served in different dishes, alongside differing spices blended together to create dishes such as beef pies, roman macaroni, roman meatloaf, omelets, may eggs, tarts of different fruity flavors, scallops, shrimp and…

"Um...excuse me? What _is_ that?" Motoyasu had a look of disgust on his face as he eyed the meat dish that was most definitely animal but he wasn't sure which one.

One of the chefs approached the table with a smile. "That would be Squirrel, Sir Spear Hero."

"Squirrel?"

"Yes, we weren't sure of what type of food you all would be interested in eating but we had noticed that a lot of the common folk of Melromarc had been taking a liking to eating roasted squirrel. Is that strange?"

"Ehhh well, I'm not used to eating animals like this. Seems kind of weird to eat a squirrel."

"People eats Squirrels all the time," Mio said matter-of-factly. "Not a lot nowadays but usually hunter types who live off the land will resort to eating all types of small rodents. Times like this, poor people would eat small animals because it's all they have to capture, y'know."

"Yeah, but it just seems weird. Like eating a dolphin or a robin."

"It's only odd now because eating animals like that isn't a socially acceptable thing. Mio's right." Itsuki inched the squirrel dish towards him to get a better look at it. It was like looking at very ugly malnourished turkey. It didn't really look all that appetizing but he hid his disgust, not wanting to appear rude. "If it makes you uncomfortable, then don't eat it."

Naofumi sighed. "I guess this is the type of stuff we'll have to deal with while we're here. We won't get to keep eating the stuff the castle serves while traveling and all. I doubt village inns have the same food to offer."

The Spear Hero leaned back in his chair. "Ugggh! That's right. I'm not looking forward to that."

All of them paid no mind to the plate of roasted squirrel and just focused on everything else. Most of the meat went onto Mio's plate with the guys a bit disturbed by the amount she consumed. Itsuki kept his balanced like a typical school lunch. Ren mostly kept with the vegetable dishes. Motoyasu and Naofumi were the only ones who truly mixed their plates up for breakfast with an emphasis on Naofumi who ate like he had never been served luxury meals like this before.

With breakfast almost being finished, Motoyasu perked up. "So, are you guys excited?!" He examined his weapon closely, "I'm ready to test out my spear. To be honest, I've never been a class like this before. I'm more fond of the warrior class. The MMOs I play usually have fast-paced warriors."

Naofumi leaned back in his seat as he looked up at the ceiling in thought. "I wish we knew more about the waves. It'd probably help if we knew what type of monsters we were dealing with. Maybe we'd be able to figure out a way beforehand."

"It won't be anything extreme, it'll most likely be mobs of monsters. I doubt they would be something so extreme. Probably some demon race like normal." Ren suggested.

"I just know I'm not gonna be the one dealing with the giant bugs."

Motoyasu chuckled. "Mio, what makes you think they'll be giant bugs?"

"There's _always_ giant bugs. Especially spiders. Sci-Fi MMOs like _Cyber-Knights_ put weird robot bugs into their games. " She shuddered.

The Shield Hero chuckled. "Don't tell me you're afraid of spiders."

"Think about it, we'll be face to face with them now. It's different from looking at them through some angled view. "

There was gulp sound heard from Motoyasu. "Y-you're right. I guess I didn't think about that."

"Don't you think you two are a little too old to be scared of insects made of pixels?"

Mio clapped her hands together and flashed a huge smile on her face. "Looks like you'll have to protect us from the bugs Little 'Suki."

"Little 'Suki? Please don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"Suki is a girly name."

"No, 'Suki is short for Itsuki, the way I'm using it."

"But others won't know that."

"I doubt most people will blink an eye. The world we're in seems to be mostly influenced by European culture so I doubt anyone will question Japanese names so much. Especially names from another world." Ren had stated.

"Then it's settled, that's my new nickname for you."

"What about parties? Mio and I were talking earlier about the type of adventurers we'd want in our parties. What about you guys?"

Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki were silent as they thought on it before the former spoke up first. "I don't think I'd care too much. I'll probably be putting in most of the work anyway considering I'm an offense hero." He then looked to Naofumi and Mio. "Between your shield and her scepter, I'd imagine it might be different for you two unless Mio isn't a healer like I thought she would be."

"Ugh, I hope I'm not a healer. They're not as fun to play as. I doubt it would be any different here."

"It'd make the most sense. If we were allowed to be a party ourselves, Motoyasu and Ren would be the offense team while Naofumi and I would be the defense. That would leave you to be the healer of the party."

Mio rolled her eyes. "I'm not looking forward to being the one all the enemies focus on."

Naofumi shrugged. "You'll just have to be on your toes. Attacking the healer out of everyone is the smartest attack plan."

"Don't talk like my life isn't in danger!" Mio cried.

The Shield Hero held his hands up in defense. "I'm sure your party won't let your enemies get that close to you, don't worry."

Ren, as collected as always."So long as none of my party members get in my way, I don't really care who is on my team. Hopefully, I could just tell the king that I'd prefer to go about it alone."

"Don't you think it would be a bit rude?" Itsuki asked. "All of those adventurers coming to join us only for you to try and turn them away?"

The servants coming to clean up their table signaled to the heroes that it was time to move to the throne room for the inevitable Gathering of Heroes.

Upon entering the throne room, the five heroes were greeted to the sight of the same council from yesterday alongside the King and his advisor. This time there were more people filling the two-story room. Most of them were definitely other nobles that had come to see the newly summoned heroes. The others were the adventurers that would be joining the heroes on their quests.

The bigger crowd make the heroes nervous in their own way as they all lined up horizontally.

King Aultcray stood up from his throne. "Today we ask our Cardinal Heroes to protect our great country and in return, we ask that the heavens protect them on their individual journeys to grow stronger to face The Waves of Calamity! On behalf of the citizens of Melromarc, we ask that stand strong as our first line of defense—"

'I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that a lot of the adventurers look a bit generic.' Mio had begun tuning out the King's speech as she looked at the potential party members.

There were your typical Knight looking guys, the rogues, possible mages & healers, some archers. The only ones standing out were three adventurers covered in black and gold. They mostly stood out because they were dressed so similarly and had an ancient Greek flair to their attires.

Two women and one boy. The first being a slightly shorter brown woman with blue colored hair styled in a half updo where her hair reached the upper part of her back and a thin black lace veil over her eyes. She wore a Grecian black halter dress that reached down to her ankles slightly covered her black sandals and a small gold belt around the waist with a solid gold bib choker around her neck. The last thing Mio noticed about her was the sphere-shaped mace being held on her back.

The second woman had a dark brown complexion with dark red kinky hair styled in Senegalese twists. She seemed a bit more 'lax than the first woman, leaning over to her whispering and quietly giggling every now and then. Much like the first woman, she too had a black lace veil covering her eyes. In fact, much of her attire was pretty much the same except for a few things. One, her dress was slightly shorter and reached midway to her calves. Two, she seemed to have gold bracelets wrapped around both her upper arms. Three, she had a mid-length cloak wrapped around her shoulders. Lastly, her weapon of choice appeared to be a crossbow.

The last was a fair-skinned brunette boy that was almost as tall as Motoyasu. The difference in his attire being a black Grecian tunic that would be more common with males during ancient Greece. He didn't wear the lace veil but did have on the two arm bracelets as well as the black sandals, these reaching up to his knees. On his back was a sturdy looking warhammer. The most notable difference, however, not just between him and the other girls, but between him and all the other adventurers in general, were the stag-like antlers that rested on top of his head.

To Mio, they looked pretty realistic and she wouldn't be too surprised at them being real and the boy being some animal-human hybrid since it's like finding Orcs in a fantasy story. Often times, the hybrid races like that are those intuned with nature.

'So the existence of humans and magic are definitely confirmed and now so are human-animal races. I wonder what else exists in this world.'

"—Adventurers,"

The loud boom of the King's voice grabbing Mio's attention.

"You may select your hero!" He shouted.

The sound of many footsteps began filling the large room while the heroes looked on in shock. "_They're _the ones choosing?!" Naofumi exclaimed as he looked at the passing adventurers before he closed his eyes out of fear.

Each of the heroes were nervous in their own way...sort of. Despite being one of the more open ones, Motoyasu managed to keep a calm composure. Ren, who has done a good job of presenting himself as the stoic of the group, was nervous on the inside, keeping his eyes closed as he waited for the footsteps to cease. Meanwhile, Itsuki stood still and simply watched all the adventurers with a more childlike gaze.

"Well, that's just great," Mio muttered as she watched the others. The anxiety of not being picked growing larger. That was until she met eyes with the blue-haired woman as she walked past her, lining up behind her as well as the other two people dressed like her.

Once the footsteps stopped, Ren and Naofumi opened their eyes. Mio turned to see the blue-haired woman offering a gentle smile. Wanting to be polite, Mio smiled back.

Meanwhile, Naofumi was in the middle of a panic. "Wait! No one?"

While everyone got their fair share of members, Naofumi was the odd one out with no one standing behind him.

The feeling of embarrassment was only worsened by the quiet sounds of a few giggles from above. Some of the people in the room seemingly taking joy in his current misfortune.

Mio felt terrible for him. The feeling of being singled out was something she was much too familiar with.

"Well, this is certainly an odd occurrence." The King commented, but by the tone of his voice he was obviously not that broken up about.

'Hmph! I see what Naofumi was talking about now.' Mio thought.

Meanwhile, the King's advisor approached him, whispering something in his ear before nodding. "I see. It would appear that the rumors surrounding the Shield Hero have made its way through the town."

"Rumors? What rumors?" The black-haired male questioned.

"The rumors of the Shield Hero being ignorant of our world seemed to have spread since last night."

Mio had a look of skepticism on her face as glanced at Naofumi before looking back at Aultcray. 'Since last night? How convenient.'

"There's also the matter of the Shield Hero not being the most favorable of heroes already."

Mio could hear the Shield Hero's spirit breaking. "What?"

"The adventurers might view you as a liability to their safety."

"Liability? But the others don't know much about the world either, why am I the one singled out!? I-it's not my fault!"

"Indeed. _Surely_, there must be someone here who wishes to join the Shield Hero's party!"

…..there was no answer. Mio gave a sympathetic look to Naofumi, whose head was hung. She couldn't tell if he was sad or angry or both and she wouldn't really blame him if he felt either.

Looking at King Aultcray, Mio raised her hand. "Naofumi can join my party!"

The woman behind Mio opened her mouth slightly about to speak before quietly huffing and slumping her shoulders while the redhead behind her raised her eyebrows with a smirk, clearly happy.

Mio could've sworn she saw a quick glare directed at her from Aultcray before he cleared her throat. "Madame Scepter Hero, though I'm sure Sir Shield Hero appreciates the gesture but need I remind you that the Cardinal Heroes partying up together would hinder a hero's leveling."

"_Actually_," the redhead standing in Mio's line stood next to her and Naofumi, "since...what's your name?" She asked, Mio taking note of her Irish accent.

"Mio."

"Since Madame Mio's magic is primarily focused on healing and supporting others in her party. She bypasses that rule. Meaning that whether it'd be permanent or temporary, the other heroes can in fact party with her and level up just fine." She explained.

"Really?" All five heroes asked. Mio smiled.

"Yep! Unfortunately, the only drawback is that the only person you'll be gaining experience with _is_ Mio. The others and I are duty-bound to serve the Scepter so we can't join your party."

Motoyasu felt defeated. "Dammit, if I had known that I would've definitely asked Mio to join."

"That's good to hear, right Naofumi?"

He nodded. "Even though it's only temporary, at least I won't be going out there alone."

"Right!" Everyone looked to King Aultcray awaiting his reply. Unbeknownst to everyone, a pair of green eyes were watching this all unfold.

"Well, I suppose the issue has been temporarily resolved. Of course, Shield Hero, you'd do well in finding members of your own before the coming wave."

Naofumi nodded.

"As compensation for this unfortunate incident, the Shield Hero shall be doubled his funds for his journey!"

Naofumi looked to Mio and the two exchanged joyous smiles, excited for what's to come.

[][][][]

"Gaah, if only I knew about that Scepter loophole, I would've asked Mio to join my party."

The only heroes remaining were the three oldest, Itsuki and Ren being the first to leave and get a start on leveling up.

"I'm pretty sure your party has a good enough healer, Motoyasu. You'll be fine without me."

"Sorry about what happened in there Naofumi. I kinda feel like a jerk for not stepping in or something."

"Don't worry about it. I mean, what could you have done?"

"Alright then, Naofumi you better keep an eye on our girl. I'll see you guys later!" The tall blonde walked and joined his party, leaving Mio and Naofumi with Mio's new group.

Naofumi glanced at the waving girl beside him. "Thank you, Mio. I feel kind of bad for forcing you into that position but I—"

"Don't be. You were obviously getting picked on. It wouldn't have been right to just let that happen. Even if I didn't have a plan."

The guy was slightly shocked. "You didn't have a plan?"

"Well, not entirely. You see, I thought about the whole can't party up together thing and was like 'well, what if we just fought _next_ to each other instead of partying up', y'know? Technically, it shouldn't have counted right?"

"That's...actually doesn't sound like a bad tactic. Except for the fact that I doubt I could do much with just a shield and earn the same amount of XP as you."

Mio sighed. "Right. Either way, everyone seemed to be enjoying your misery." She looked at him with a determined look. "I just needed to show them someone was on your side! Regardless, thank goodness Red said something when she did."

"Red?"

"I haven't asked that girl what her name was her."

Looking back at the three. "Maybe we should go and meet your party?"

"We probably should. We need a get moving! I'm so excited!" She grabbed onto his arm and yanked him in the direction of her party.

"Is it because you're partying with someone familiar?"

"Duh!"

* * *

The scene at breakfast is literally only there because I wanted some interaction between the heroes considering they aren't gonna be getting much of it during their separate journeys until the typical clashes. I feel like if someone was a _designated __healer_ then the rule that they can't party up wouldn't count for them.

Mio's party (Izza and Taji specifically) are from a country I made up that is generally inspired by medieval Celtic culture. You'll learn more about it in future chapters. However, the House feels more kin to a sort of pagan Greek religion. I'm excited to show more of it in future chapters. A warning though, it will get weird.


	3. First Day Out

Chapter Three!

So previously, everyone got sorted into their parties. All except Naofumi who no one wanted to join. Thankfully there's a loophole with the Scepter Hero that allows for a temporary party up between the two heroes until Naofumi can find a party on his own.

This chapter will formally introduce most Mio's party as well as some small introductory bonding between the two heroes.

* * *

The excitable energy shared between Naofumi and Mio had quickly dissipated as they neared the still unnamed trio. The hushed voices and aggressive movements indicating to the two that there was an argument happening between the blue-haired girl and the redheaded one.

"That...doesn't look good." Naofumi commented.

"You think? Is this turning into a shit show already?"

"Looks like they already know each other at least, might be a good thing."

"Did anyone in the other three's parties start arguing the second they formed?" Naofumi chuckled while Mio playfully hit him. "Don't laugh."

Once the stag boy noticed the two approaching, he quickly stopped the two from arguing and focused their attention on Mio. The blue-haired girl flashed a fake smile before approaching the heroes and bowing.

"It's an honor to meet you, Madame Mio. Apologies for anything you might've heard. My name is Izza Loughlin, I'm a Cleric for the House of Scathanna." She motions towards brunette boy now standing in between her and the other woman. "This here is Rowen MacBreen, he's a fighter for the house. We know he's young but we promise he's exceptional with his war hammer."

The redhead playfully jabs at him. "That stag strength coming in real handy. He's one of the stronger fighters in our chapter." She laughed. The boy, Rowen, rubbed the back of his head and blushed at the compliment.

"T-thank you, Lady Ailin."

Izza glared at her friend. "Taji!" wanting to desperately scold her for her rudeness.

"Relax," The redhead bowed dramatically. "Taji Ailin of House Ailin. I'm also a Cleric for the House and a fighter. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's more than a pleasure," Izza interjected, "it's an _honor_."

"Is it really?" Mio raised an eyebrow.

"I know you heroes are from other worlds but we have an opportunity that other members of the House would kill for. Being apart of your personal coterie is an accomplishment not many can have and my..." Izza looked over to the other two. "allies and I have been trusted with the task of not only instructing you but also aiding you against the waves."

Naofumi was intrigued. "Wow, being a hero must really be a big deal for you guys."

Izza was excited while still trying to keep herself from fawning over the new Scepter Hero. "She was chosen by Scepter! Meaning, she was chosen by Scathanna herself. It's-...I'm sorry for the outburst! I just...never thought I'd actually get to meet a Scepter Hero. I shouldn't be acting like a child."

"No, it's fine! I don't mind...maybe don't make that a habit though. The thought of being treated like some religious figure doesn't really sound good."

Taji shrugged with a chuckle. "Well, you better get used to it because that's who you are now. A lot of people are going to be doing that from now on. It comes with the territory."

Mio looked at Taji with a worried look before looking back to Naofumi who simply shrugged.

Izza looked over to Naofumi in surprise, as if she forgot who he was for a second. "We should take you to the chantry. As for the Shield Hero, we have a bunch of armor and equipment that might be useful to him. We could even give it to you for free!"

"Oh no, that's ok. I'm already intruding enough as it is. I'd feel like a moocher if I just took armor from you."

"Are you sure? I'm sure Regent Dencourt wouldn't mind. Especially if you're friendly with Madame Mio." Naofumi nodded to Izza.

Taji leaned on the shoulders of Rowen. "Well, in that case, I do know of a place that would be happy to serve one of the Cardinal Heroes."

[][][][]

The bell of Erhard's shop rung as the group, minus Izza as she stayed behind in the carriage, entered. Upon hearing the sound, Erhard looked up to see the familiar Taji.

"Oh! Lady Ailin! Haven't seen you in a while. I was starting to think you finally ditched town."

"Well, not yet but luckily for you I have a new reason for staying." Taji stepped aside to showcase Mio and Naofumi, both standing there like confused children.

Erhard looked them both up and down but shrugged. "The girl's cute and all but I don't see what's the big deal."

Taji swatted the air in front of him. "Stop gowling! You haven't heard that King summoned the Cardinal Heroes?"

"Wait!" With widened eyes, he looked past Taji back at the heroes. Naofumi lightly waving. "I thought it was all gossip. That really happened!?"

Taji nodded and presented the two. "That one right there is Sir Naofumi, the Shield Hero. That one right there is Madame Mio, the Scepter Hero. The Shield Hero needs supplies and I thought I'd do you the courtesy of being the one that sells it to him." The redhead had a smirk on her face as she leaned over the counter. "What do you say?"

Erhard smirked. "Who would be dumb enough to pass up _that_ opportunity?" the older man walked out from behind the counter approaching the Shield Hero, sizing him up. "Alright, kid! Let's see what we got for you. Let's start off with weapons."

A pile of swords, all varying in sizes, were placed on the counter for Naofumi to examine. He smiled picking up a long sword. "This looks pretty cool! How much for-" Naofumi felt his hand being zapped as the sword flew out of his hand and landed far away on the floor, nearly hitting Rowen, who quickly dodged out of the way. "S-sorry!"

"What even was that?" Mio stared at the sword with a freaked out look.

Just then a screen appeared before Naofumi.

_!Legendary Weapon Breach of Agreement_

_A hero can't use any other weapon with the intent to fight other than the one Legendary Weapon in their possession_.

Both heroes looked at the message stunned. "What? So we _have_ to use the Legendary weapons?" Naofumi asked. "That's too much! How am I supposed to kill monsters when the only thing I have is the Shield?!"

"Oh, right, you probably don't know." The two looked over to Taji, who was examining the different shields that Erhard offered. "There such thing in our world called magic affinity, the Cardinal Heroes always have them. It will take some leveling up but it's possible that most of your power would mostly rely on using the magic. "

The Shield Hero slumped. "That sucks, that means I really do have a form a party of my own."

Erhard was a bit disappointed as well. "Well, I may not be able to sell you weapons but I'll still be able to sell you armor. Take a look around, find something you like."

A now defeated Naofumi nodded as Mio patted him on the back with a sympathetic smile.

Taji tapped her chin. "You'd think there'd be a loophole for the Shield Hero to be able to use a weapon. I don't see how a shield is meant to do much." She scoffed.

"Ms. Taji!" Rowen whined, his voice hushed as to not make too much of a scene even though it was only their group inside the shop.

"What? Look at him," She pointed to the scruffy haired hero. "He's accepted his fate, nothing I say will hurt him now."

"The Cardinal Shield is actually pretty powerful in its own right." His voice was much different from Taji and Izza's. He simply spoke with the same accent as many of the people of Melromarc. But given the fact that he seems to be the only person with stag antlers in Melromarc so far, it made Naofumi and Mio think he was from somewhere else.

Naofumi looked over to the boy. "Really now?"

Rowen nodded with an innocent smile. "I've never seen it in action myself but I've always heard stories from others about some of the things that the shield can do when upgraded right. I'm not sure how as most people only talk about how amazing it is. In Melromarc, not a lot of people talk about the Shield Hero and it's been a while since I've been out of the country to hear any other stories."

"I guess it makes sense. I mean, if the Cardinal Heroes are meant to be on the front lines of these waves, then they would get powers that could better wipe out the waves better, right?" Mio looked to Naofumi.

"Do you know a lot about the Shield?"

"I was born sometime after the last Shield Hero had passed away, so most of what I heard were stories. A lot of the weapons can tap into those types of powers. Summoning lightning, fire, and all sorts of other stuff. Izza's right about the magic affinity though, I think it might be different for each incarnation. So long as you level up your weapon right, I think you'll do fine."

"Alright then! Rowen, right?"

"Yes, Sir Naofumi!"

"I'll take your word for it."

As Naofumi went to the back to change, Rowen was left stunned by the compliment from someone he held in high regard. Inside, Rowen felt as if he was going to die. An experience someone like him could only dream of had happened and he wasn't prepared for such a thing. "T-thank you!"

The sound of the shop door jingling caught everyone's attention as Izza stood in the doorway with a bundle of black cloths being held in one arm and some jewels being held in her opposite hand.

"Planning ahead has its perks. I figured Taji would delay us _somehow_ so I brought Madame Mio's new garments."

Mio glanced at Taji, who simply motioned at Izza, before walking towards the blue-haired party member, taking the clothes and heading off into the changing room that Erhard had in the back.

[][][][]

_Flight of The Predator_

_An enchanting potion that increases the consumer's movement for some time. __**CAUTION: **__USE SPARINGLY_

[][][][]

Naofumi was the first to come back out, fitted with some light armor. It didn't stand out much but it also wasn't anything too hideous, so he didn't have to worry about looking ridiculous while adventuring.

"Fits nicely, like a glove!" Erhard cheered.

Taji moved in circles around Naofumi, taking in his new look. "Very fine indeed. I knew coming here was the right idea."

The older man smirked at the compliment. "Take note kid, I have the best gear in town. So I expect you to make yourself a regular customer here in my shop."

Naofumi nodded with a smile, looking around the shop to notice that Mio wasn't with them. "Where's Mio?"

"The pretty girl? She's still in the back, wonder what's taking her so long."

Taji chuckled. "She might be shy~"

The Shield Hero was puzzled. "Shy? Is there something wrong with her outfit?"

"Well…" Izza started, "her outfit might be somewhat…"

Before she could finish her statement, Mio's voice was heard. "Call me stupid all you want, but I spent a good few minutes terrified that I ripped this when I put it on."

Everyone turned to Mio who was now wearing a similar acolyte outfit to Izza and Taji but different in its own way. The Grecian black halter dress had reached down to her ankles, keeping her black colored sandals visible enough. The main difference in Mio's dress was not only length but the fact that the sides of the dress were slitted from the middle of her thighs to the end of the dress. While she didn't wear the same lace veil, she did a gold diadem with a strange mahogany red jewel infused in the dangling center, bringing attention to her brown eyes. She was also adorned with the golden bib choker along with some gold cuff bracelets.

Mio, noticing the stares she was getting from everyone, felt her face begin to heat up. "I didn't expect it to be...so revealing."

"Well, there's no need to be embarrassed. You've got nice legs, right?" She nudged the person next to her, which so happened to be Naofumi.

"I-I uh...yeah, they're very…" Embarrassed at his faltering words, the scruffy haired hero quickly turned away. "She looks very nice."

Taji giggled as Izza walked over to Mio to examine the outfit. "So nothing feels too tight? Everything fitting in the right places?"

"Yeah, but I'm just lost on how this is religious wear. At least...appropriate for someone like me who's supposed to be...important? I'm mean, why not wear a habit and everything else in a nun outfit?"

"Because it's ugly." Taji said casually, but still with sternness to her voice.

Izza chuckled nervously. "No, we just wouldn't want people to get us confused with members of other faiths."

"And because it's ugly." Rowen added innocently which caused Izza to send a glare his way, effectively making him quiet.

The redhead clapped her hands together. "Alright! I think we're ready to take our heroes to the field."

[][][][]

"They're adorable!"

Mio and Naofumi watched the little angry orange balls bounce around amongst each other. While Taji had other plans, Izza managed to convince her to start off with something that the two low-level heroes could _actually_ tackle.

"Aye, the balloons are cute, aren't they? They're also fucking annoying. Like roaches." Taji leaned against a nearby tree. "But they relatively easier than a small pack of wolves."

The heroes watched as both Izza and Rowen stepped forward, weapons at the ready. The sound of footsteps catching the balloon's collective attention. The little creatures growled before launching themselves at the duo.

Rowen struck first, lunging himself forward with his war hammer in position. Four balloons aimed for his face with their mouths open and with a great swing, Rowen destroyed all four of them with their simultaneous pops signifying his victory. He turned to the heroes as propped his hammer upon his shoulder with a confident smile. Naofumi and Mio were in awe.

"That was amazing, Rowen!" Naofumi exclaimed.

The young demi-human blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "T-thanks, it was nothing, really."

A lone growl caught his attention but he didn't turn around quick enough to see a red balloon charging at him, jaw wide open. Instinctively, Rowen backed away, giving Izza enough room to launch herself and bring her heavy mace down onto the balloon, killing it instantly.

"Nice." Mio complimented.

Izza bowed, "While they're not too deadly, getting a lot of them on you is a hassle. You two should be able to handle yourselves. Ok?"

Naofumi nodded while Mio looked at her Scepter with a worried look. She was still unsure of how to even use her powers. Sure the others could tap into some magic themselves, but they still had more defensive and offensive weapons to protect them. Mio knew trying to hit some giant monster with _her_ weapon wouldn't do her much justice. Unbeknownst to her, Taji was watching her closely.

Naofumi has stepped forward first, his steps on the grass alerting more of the balloons who began growling at the Shield Hero. One of the balloons lunged at him, only to be blocked off by his shield. The other balloons followed suit, each attacking him one by one only to bounce off his shield. Feeling victorious, Naofumi smirked.

"These guys _are _pretty basic, huh?"

The balloons, as if they understood what he said, glanced at each other before looking back up at the Shield Hero. They then began to bounce around the hero and all attacked at once, one even biting Naofumi on his head, distracting him well enough for the others to attack other parts of his body.

"AHH!"

_Whoosh! Pop!_

He looked up to see Izza standing over him in a fighting stance. She had dispatched most of them to help him with the exception of the one on top of his head.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah...you know...it actually doesn't hurt."

"Huh, really?"

"Yeah, it tickles a little bit but...doesn't hurt at all."

Rowen looked on in curious awe. "It could be the power of the Shield. Since it's a legendary weapon maybe your defense stats are extremely high."

"Really? That's awesome! Well then," Naofumi casually picked the lone balloon off of his head, staring it down as it tried gnawing at his fingers. "Now that we know how high my defense is...let's see how strong my attack power is!" There was an evil glint in his eyes as he said this. "Take that!"

Naofumi punched down hard on the balloon...only for his hand to bounce back up as if he didn't do anything. "Huh?" There was a brief pause in everyone before Naofumi began punching at it again and again until…

_POP!_

The balloon finally gave away and exploded into pieces. Naofumi smiled in victory until a notice popped up congratulating him on his victory before rewarding him with 1 experience point. Simultaneously, Mio received 1 point as well. Feeling defeated, he turned to Mio holding the pieces of the balloon as he gave a lazy smile, "I did it…" he let out tiredly.

Mio gave a sympathetic smile as she shrugged. "It's something."

"Well, it took some time but I got it. A few more of these and I'll be making some good progress, right?"

Mio laughed as she went over to him, patting him on the shoulder, "I admire your positivity."

He motioned towards the balloons. "Your turn."

She nodded, "Right, my turn." Mio looked down at the Scepter again. "The fuck am I supposed to do with this?" She muttered.

"Boo!"

Mio gasped once she felt Taji come up behind her and place her hands on her shoulders. She quickly turned the Scepter Hero around. Pulling out a small knife and holding it in front of Mio's face. "I give myself to thee." The redhead then grabbed Mio's hand and quickly slashed at her palm, drawing blood.

"Ow! What the fu—"

Naofumi panicked. "Mio—"

Taji clasped Mio's hands on the hilt of the wand before quickly turning the heroine around and pushing into a group of feral red balloons.

The force of the push had caused Mio to step into one of the balloons, knocking her off balance and causing her to stumble, almost dropping the scepter.

The red balloons growled and launched up at her. "Ahh!" She let out a panicked scream as she covered her face.

"I give myself to thee!" Taji shouted.

Mio, still frightened, straightened her posture as she looked at the incoming monsters with frantic eyes. "I uh, give myself to thee!"

Just as the red balloons closed in towards Mio's face, a red bubble formed around the hero, protecting her from their slightly harmless bites. Their teeth got stuck in the grip of the bubble that, upon a closer look, seemed to made of a crimson fluid that was no doubt the blood that Taji had just drawn from Mio.

Naofumi and the others, with the exception of Taji, looked on in awe.

Assured that no harm would come to her, Mio stepped forward to touch the protective bubble. While it was still made from her blood, it was still hard on her end. The purpose of this attack clear. It was meant to get an enemy's weapon (in this case teeth) stuck long enough for someone to take advantage of the situation and dispose of them.

Mio turned to Taji, who smirked with her arms crossed, once again leaning against the tree. "What is this?"

"Madame Mio, Welcome to the world of blood magic."

* * *

The House of Scathanna was mostly inspired by both the religion of R'hollar from Game of Thrones (or A Song of Ice and Fire, if you wanna be _that_ person) and the Tremere clan from Vampire: The Masquerade AKA my favorite clan. So the Scepter Heros kind of got their own thing going on and it'll be expanded on in the future as to why that is.

Thanks for reading and I will see you in the next chapter. I know I'm taking too long to get to Naofumi's accusation but we'll get there, I promise.


	4. A Series of Doubts

(I don't know what was going on with FF and uploading this but hopefully its working now.)

FINALLY! After disappearing for a few months, a new chapter is here! I had some reservations about having the chapter so long but then i figured it'd be a good apology for being MIA. This is going to jump a bit kind of like important events leading up to a climax that will be explored later in the story-ish.

* * *

_"Mio, you have to trust me! I didn't do ANYTHING to her! Tell me you trust me!"_

* * *

Naofumi looked on in awe as the balloons tried their best to clamp down and break the shield bubble that protected Mio. Blood magic. That's what he heard Taji call it. He was sure there was some exaggeration happening with the spell and that all of that couldn't possibly be Mio's blood. 'That much in such a short amount of time would've definitely have caused her to pass out or something.' he thought.

Hearing the sound of footsteps on the grass caught his attention. Looking over, he saw Taji positioning herself on Mio's side with her dark brown wooden crossbow raised. "Keep'em steady, lass!" She shouted, catching the black-haired heroine's attention.

With her sights set on the line of balloons, Taji fired a shot. The single sharp-pointed arrow pierced through each of the balloons with ease, emitting several pops and snatching them off of Mio's bubble before landing in the grass by Naofumi's feet, causing the Shield Hero to jump.

!_4 EXP_

The alert had appeared above both Mio and Naofumi but the numbers quickly changed, both getting 2 experience points each. "It splits?" Naofumi asked, "How come it gave us both 1 point when I killed one?"

"Slaying the balloons will get you one point, no matter the color. You can't really split one fairly now can you?" Rowen began, "Since the combined efforts of Madame Mio and Lady Taji killed four of them, it was able to split it evenly."

"Exactly, Rowen my boy!" Taji playful smacked him on his back. "This is the loophole. When another hero is partied with the Scepter Hero, the experience will be split between the two, especially when they work together to defeat an enemy. When Izza, Rowen, and I defeat an enemy. The EXP is shared with Mio mostly." The redhead leaned against Rowen's shoulders, "So hanging with us means that you've got to help make sure that our Madame over there gets in on the action whether it be through offense or defense if you want some of the points she gets."

This time Mio spoke. "Wait, wait, wait. What about the EXP I get from you guys. Why would he not get some of that as well?"

"To be honest, no one knows why that is. It was enough of a miracle on its own to discover that the Scepter Hero could technically be an exception to the party rule but as to why it works the way it does, there hasn't been any real answer for years now." Izza replied.

Taji went over and picked up the remains of the balloons. She handed one piece to Mio and handed the others to Naofumi, both heroes confused as to what they should do with their new "gift". "Now, this lesson is also very important, so ears open! You see, as the heroes, you'll quickly find out that your weapons are more special than others who may also have shields, swords, bows, and scepters of their own. Your weapons can transform its properties and all."

"Is this what the popped balloons are for?" The Scepter Hero inquired.

Taji nodded. "The remnants of enemies can sometimes add different skills, buffs, and all other things to your weapon which can help make it versatile."

Rowen approached Naofumi. "That's really what I meant when I said the Shield Hero has special abilities."

"Unfortunately, while it would be handy, there's no journal from the previous heroes that basically says what different things do to each of the weapons, so it'll be up to you lot to figure it out. All you have to do is place the balloons pieces in the gems of your weapons. Don't really know what the balloon'll give you, but it's worth testing it out, aint it?"

The heroes looked down at their weapons, their gems being quite obvious with Naofumi's being dead center and Mio's literally being the highlight of the Scepter. The former idol carefully placed the torn cloth into the gem and watched in amazement as her weapon sucked it in immediately. There was some shimmering before an alert popped up.

_+1 to defense_

Mio's shoulders slumped. "Well, that's a bit underwhelming."

Taji shrugged with a relaxed smirk. "I did say that."

"So...blood magic?"

"Yep! You see, the first Scepter Hero, Scathanna, somehow managed to tap into a different source of power centuries ago. She gave up her ability to use our normal magic system to be able to manipulate blood in many ways."

"Isn't blood magic kind of evil?" Naofumi asked. "Whenever I hear about it, it's always being used to hurt others."

"It's neutral. It usually depends on how you acquire it and Scepter Heroes rarely ever take blood from unwilling participants." Izza explained. "Most people are more than willing because they're aware of the miracles that could be conjured for them in return." Izza's tone held a strong sense of amazement and honor, indicating her feelings on the matter. "It is part of what gets us demonized yes but there's only so much we can do to prove to the non-believers that there is nothing to fear." She ended with sadness.

"So the magic affinity stuff doesn't apply to me?"

"Well...not anymore." Taji replied as a status update icon appeared.

Mio opened the menu to see her new set of stats that were MUCH different now.

!Status Unlocked

SUCCESSFULLY UNLOCKED BLOOD MAGIC RESERVE

Where it initially had showed off stats similar to a mage with the typical MP. It had changed to BR. "BR? Blood reserve?"

Taji nodded. "Not only counting what you have but what you take from others. The more you level up, the more you'll be able to keep. Obviously, getting too low will be terrible and trying to perform a spell that requires more will have consequences. You can no longer use regular magic."

"What happens if I try?"

"Try. Just say Zweit and you'll see."

"Alright then, Zweit-" ZAP! Almost as if she was being plucked on the mouth, Mio yelped and covered her mouth. Much like when Naofumi tried holding a different weapon, Mio was instantly stopped from performing an action forbidden to her. An alert appeared above her.

!Magic System Breach of Agreement

The Scepter hero cannot use other forms of magic.

"Jeez, does it always shock you when you do stuff like that?"

"Yes. An incentive to make sure you follow the rules."

Mio groaned. "That's stupid."

Naofumi sighed. "That's just something we'll have to get used to. I guess it makes sense since in MMOs, once you pick a class, you can't do what other classes do. Unless you make a new character which I don't see happening."

Taji shrugged. "Suicide might work."

….

The others all looked at Taji with a stunned expression at her suggestion. The redhead simply raised an eyebrow, nonchalant about her words. "What?"

Izza's mouth stretched into a forced smile before she placed a hand on Taji's shoulder . "Would you two excuse us for a second?" The girl grabbed the redhead's arm and dragged her aside. The only thing Taji was able to emit was a simple, 'what did I do now?'

Izza kept going until she was sure the two were out of earshot. "Are you able to act right? Just for a moment?" She asked in a harsh hushed tone.

"Does Madame Mio look even the slightest offended at my behavior? You're the one with a stick up her arse."

"I don't understand how you can be this careless. There are members of the House that would kill for something like this. If Regent Dencourt feels we're too...immature to handle a duty like this, he'll—"

"I didn't exactly see you stepping up to teach Mio how to use her abilities just now." Izza huffed as she crossed her arms. "Regent Dencourt is not gonna do a thing." Taji inched closer to Izza's face, her face turning a bit more serious, poking at Izza's collarbone. "Everyone knows you're his little squire girl. He wouldn't risk taking you—much less the coterie you're in— off Scepter duty. How else would he keep tight tabs on us?"

"And you're implying what exactly?"

"Don't worry. I won't make you look like an idiot."

_Meanwhile…_

Mio and Naofumi stood aside as they watched Taji get dragged away by Izza. Rowen, meanwhile, sat down on the ground and began plucking a few bits of grass out of boredom.

"This is the second time." Mio commented. "Rowen, do they always do this?"

"You get used to it." Rowen replied in a monotone manner. "Miss Tamara makes fun of them and calls them a married couple. Which ends up getting her scolded by Miss Izza."

"Tamara?"

"Oh! Yeah, she's another member of our coterie but when we left this morning, she was too tired. So we figured she could just meet you when we get back. Miss Izza and Regent Dencourt says she's a loose drunk but I think she's cool!"

"Jeez."

Naofumi kneeled down. "Rowen can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"It's just. You look my age but I'm kind of noticing you speak like a kid. Are you some sort of reverse shota?"

"Reverse...shota?"

Mio swatted at Naofumi. "He's asking you how old you are."

"Oh! I'm 11!"

The two heroes glanced at each other with confused expressions. Rowen notes this and giggled.

"I know I look older physically but I'm still young mentally. It's just how we Demi-humans grow."

"Demi-humans? Animal-human hybrids, right?" Mio asked.

The brunete nodded. "Yeah! I'm a stag variant, I get it from my mom's side. We're sort of like you humans, there's a lot of us and we all look different. There are lion variants, tigers, bears, horses, racoons—oh! Miss Tamara's a Demi-human too! She's a rabbit variant."

"Oh really?" Mio placed a hand on her hip. "Is she 11 too?"

Rowen shook his head. "No. She never tells me her age but I know she's an adult because she and Miss Taji always drink together. They never let me drink though. They say I'm too young. Can kids drink back in your world?"

Naofumi nervously chuckled as he shook his head. "No, you have to be a certain age in my world too but trust me, you're not missing much."

"Yeah, liquor smells gross. Except for wine. Wine is delicious! Only red wine though."

Rowen smileed. "You really are the Scepter Hero."

"Huh?"

"One of the defining traits of a Scepter Hero is their thirst for wine. It's a good substitute."

"Substitute for what—"

"Alright, heroes,"

Taji came walking back with Izza angrily trailing behind her.

"I'll assume you lot a bit more used to battle now? Think you're ready for something that can pack more of a punch?"

Mio and Naofumi looked at each other and smiled confidently. "I think we can handle it!"

While Mio's Party and Naofumi went off to find more ferocious prey, there was another party getting used to each other.

"Are you sure you don't need help."

Motoyasu looked back at his harem of female adventurers with a confident smirk. "What type of man would I be if I let women fight my battles? Don't you ladies worry, I got this."

The tallest of heroes turned his back on the women and stared down at the large dire wolf in front of him. The size of the canine making normal sized wolves look like chihuahuas in comparison.

Motoyasu, readied himself in a battle stance before lunging towards the giant wolf. One woman in his party—named Chunhua— had a worried expression on her face.

"Sir Motoyasu! I admire your confidence but that looks like a dire wolf pack leader. They can be quite ferocious and their packs are always—" her warning was stopped abruptly by a hand on her shoulder.

The blonde turned to see the redhead—Myne she introduced herself as—with a look of annoyance on her face. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean? I'm warning him."

"Let him fight. This is the best case scenario. Tagging along with one of the five heroes while not having to do a thing and you're trying to ruin that by putting on some brave warrior act?"

"It's not an act. Where I come from there are plenty of dire wolves. My people come across them everyday when we go hunting. I'd imagine any adventurer would love tips on how to defeat such beasts."

Myne scoffed as two nameless girls came up behind her, almost like accessories. "I don't know how things work where you come from and I really don't care, but here in Melromarc we don't ruin the good things we have. You might wanna catch up."

"Well, where I come from, people who call themselves adventurers don't just stand around like scared children. Maybe you're the one that needs to catch up."

The great howl of the dire wolf broke the argument and caught the two women's attention. The beast held its head up high, allowing the howl to reach the skies.

"No doubt it's calling for its pack." Chunhua stated. The Black Bear Mountain native readied her staff and ran towards Motoyasu, much to the aggravating chagrin of Myne.

"That little slag." The redhead muttered angrily as one of her accessories rested a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to console her building rage.

Lucy-as she had introduced herself-looked at Myne with worry. "What are we going to do about her, Malty?"

Myne growled as she looked back at her childhood minion. "I told you, no matter what, call me Myne." She then looked back to Chunhua. "We've gotten rid of those other two so far. We'll do the same with her."

The other young woman-Elena of House Haven-rolled her eyes. She initially thought that ending up in the same party as Princess Malty would've been a good thing. Not only for her, but for her family. What type of noble wouldn't want to gain some favor with the crown family? 'A moronic one, that's who' is what she would tell you.

But the stories and rumors she had heard about the first born resulted in truth. Malty was a spoiled brat with an incredible act of an innocent woman to people who knew absolutely nothing about her. Elena Haven was no fool like the other girls. She watched as a few of the other girls in Motoyasu's party pissed off Malty only to be threatened with some kind of imprisonment or loss of family wealth.

Elena knew that the same threat wouldn't work on Chunhua, someone from an entirely different kingdom. She'll admit, she didn't know much about the people of the Black Bear Mountains other than they spent their days in mountains of snow. She figured that's why Chunhua wasn't afraid of Malty's threats, she and her people faced more dangerous things. Or maybe she wasn't afraid because they didn't have the threat of nobles in the face of all that cold. Or maybe it was the simple fact that Malty's threats didn't have an effect on Chunhua because the girl wasn't from here. Maybe she was a noble back in the mountains.

It didn't matter. Both Malty and Chunhua were stupid to Elena. Chunhua, despite being a foreigner in a land far from home, wasn't taking the route of sating the egos of the nobles of this land. A choice that would no doubt be her undoing. Malty, on the other hand, was an idiot because she wasn't choosing to play nice with anyone in the party but Motoyasu. No matter how much better off it might've been in the long run, Malty didn't care. She was the type of royalty that needed to proclaim that she was in charge. A brat. She had no long game plan. She was in the moment of making herself feel good.

However, for as much as Elena despised having to deal with Malty. When weighing on her options, it was better to ally herself with the spoiled princess as Elena was from Melromarc and didn't want to ruin anything her family built. So instead of telling Malty what would be the smarter idea, she simply said. "Do you think it'll work?"

Malty rolled her eyes. "Has it not worked for us before?"

Elena shook her head, pretending to be afraid of Malty. "No."

"Then it's going to work again."

While the trio were devising their plan, Motoyasu had silenced the beast's howling. "Not today!" The blonde lunged his spear forward, hitting the dire wolf square in the chest, knocking it back. "Ha!"

The Spear Hero has kept his focus intently on the giant dire wolf that he didn't realize he had been surrounded by its comrades. All of who were quietly growling in the bushes, waiting for the hero to completely let his guard down.

The dire wolf leader began to slowly pick itself up but paused when Motoyasu casually approached it with his spear pointed towards the beast, ready to finish it off. "A creature as big as you has gotta be worth a lot of experience points."

Just as he was about to plunge his spear into the dire wolf's belly, he heard it! The sound of the bushes rustling before four smaller dire wolves—two on each side—launched up towards the hero, ready to take chunks out of his flesh.

One in particular had bared its large, drool covered fangs and had been aiming for Motoyasu's stunned face as he looked up in shock at the beast descending from the air.

"As source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and smite my enemies! Zweit Great Strikes!" The yelling voice of Chunhua captured Motoyasu's attention as he turned to see the girl running up towards him.

Chunhua's Position went from running to jumping into the air before landing with a hard slam of her staff against the ground. The sky above illuminated as four direct dots of white light grew brighter seconds before four strikes of lightning rain down upon each of the wolves, knocking them off their attack course and smashing them into the ground, each one letting out a pained whimper as their body collided with the forest floor.

Motoyasu looked around at the fallen dire wolves before looking over to Chunhua in awe. The tall blonde ran over to her with a huge grin on his face.

"That was amazing! You're Chunhua, right?!"

Chunhua nodded before bowing. "I'm terribly sorry, I know you said you didn't feel comfortable with us fighting but Direwolves are a terrible menace to face alone."

"You have experience?"

The caster smiled as she nodded. "Back home! The direwolves are a bit more ferocious due to the weather but my people often find ourselves fighting against them a lot."

"That's pretty neat. And don't feel bad about stepping in, you pretty much saved my life."

"Um...Sir Motoyasu, is it fine with you if I participated in battle alongside you? I didn't really become an adventurer just to sit on the sidelines."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Sure!"

Chunhua flashed a huge smile while Malty and her two minions stood on the sidelines. The redhead was seething.

"That little...hussie." She growled. "One little move and that oaf is all over her. This is ridiculous."

"Well there goes your idea of getting rid of her." Elena said with no emotion.

Malty scowled at Elena before looking back at Motoyasu and his new "favorite", Chunhua. The princess was not going to let something like this happen. She was NOT going to be humiliated like this. All she needed was the perfect ploy.

The group's attention was caught by the sound of metal clanging. It most certainly captured Motoyasu's attention.

_Back to the shield/scepter party…_

"Naofumi, this is a terrible idea!"

"Yeah, keep screaming like that! You'll get their attention."

"What?!"

With the balloons taken care of and the two heroes more comfortable with their abilities, Taji felt it was appropriate to up the game of their enemies. So the noble lady directed them to the most known whereabouts of a pack of wolves. Not the dire ones but still pretty ferocious.

When Rowen had informed the two of how the wolves in these parts are pretty sneaky, often preferring to attack when a person is caught off guard, Naofumi came up with the plan to lure the wolves out by offering up some bait...some very frightened bait AKA Mio.

"I don't understand why I have to be the one to do this." The Scepter Hero whined.

"You are the one panicking out of all of us." Taji said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Because I'm being used as cannon fodder."

Naofumi let out a nervous chuckle. "Cannon fodder makes it sound like you're going to die…" Mio gulped as her eyes widened. Naofumi, seeing the expression on her face, began to stammer. "D-don't worry! I'm not going to let you die or anything. Just trust me. Can you do that?"

Mio whimpered. "Fine! I'll trust you..."

"Thank-"

"Because if you get me killed I will haunt you for the rest of your life." She quickly blurted out.

Naofumi smirked. "I'll accept that."

"Just hope we don't attract direwolves." Izza commented.

Naofumi looked at the cleric confused as Mio looked back at the bush she and Naofumi were hiding in with a shocked expression. "Direwolves?" Both of them said.

"You know, like regular wolves...but dire."

"How big are the direwolves normally?" The Shield Hero asked.

"Oh well, compared to regular wolves, direwolves can be...almost the size of our carriage." She explained.

"Oh fuck me…" Mio let out upon hearing the explanation.

The rustling of the bushes clear in front of Mio caught everyone's attention, especially the Scepter Hero. Even though she was terrified, from what she knew of wild animals back in her world was that running would guarantee that the beasts would chase you down. She had no doubt that it would be the same in a world like this.

The other four watched the rustling bush intensely, waiting for the wolf to make its appearance.

Finally, a dark grey wolf slowly came out from the bush with a low growl. Mio's nervous shaking grew as she watched the wolf slowly stalk towards her. The female hero began to stammer as she tried to get into a battle ready position.

"N-n-nice doggy...good doggy…" The nervousness was clear in her voice.

The wolf's growling grew a few octaves as it inched closer, its body lowering, clearly ready to pounce onto the Scepter Hero. Meanwhile, Naofumi readied himself as he kept a close eye on the wolf. Izza glanced over to him before looking back at the wolf. "We need to be careful," she began whispering, "only a dumb wolf hunts alone."

There was a clear stand off between Mio and the wolf. One was obviously waiting for the other to make the first move and much like Naofumi and the others were waiting in the wakes, the Shield Hero had no doubt that the wolf's pack was not too far doing the same.

'I have to figure out something.' Mio thought. 'Something to aggravate it to attack.' Her eyes glanced over to Naofumi's hiding spot before quickly looking back at the wolf.

The beast had its eyes trained on her, hyper focusing on her specifically so that if she ran, it could be on her trail like a moth to a flame. It had proved this when Mio tried inching away from it, sliding her left foot back an inch. This action caused the hyper focused wolf to pounce, launching into the air with its mouth wide open. It's canines fully bared with some slight drool dangling out of its open mouth.

Instinctively, Mio tried to raise her scepter to once again to form her protective blood bubble but in the instant that the wolf began to come down onto Mio, Naofumi bursted from behind the bush, sliding in front of Mio with his shield raised high to protect from the wolf's sharp fangs.

The wolf came down and its teeth collided with the shield with a loud clang that echoed through the forest. Taji quickly rose from the bushes she was hiding in with her crossbow locked and loaded and aimed towards the wolf. The redhead fired, piercing the wolf straight in the skull and knocking it off of Naofumi's shield down to the ground.

With their ally down, two other wolves appeared to avenge their friend. Izza smirked, "There they are!" before she hopped out from her hiding spot and raised her hand. "As source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and engulf my enemies! ZWEIT BUBBLE!"

Just as the two remaining wolves were about to pounce on the two heroes, they were caught mid-air by Izza's spell which trapped them in the confines of their own individual bubbles. The wolves were clearly struggling for air, thrashing about as they floated. Then Rowen came charging from his spot next to Taji with his large war hammer winded back. "YAAHHH!" The young demi-human shouted as he swung his hammer, snatching up both wolves, popping the bubbles and smashing them against a nearby thick tree, slaying the both of them.

Mio looked around her before letting out a relieved laugh. Naofumi looked at her with a smile. "I told you to trust me-" The Shield Hero was interrupted by Mio hopping onto him and hugging him tightly, nearly squeezing him to death.

"Oh my god! You are the best, Naofumi!" She shouted. The scruffy haired hero blushed before Mio quickly let him go, showing off her excited look. After a day and a half of constantly being crapped on for being the Shield Hero, it felt nice to have some praise. Though Naofumi really didn't want to admit this, especially to himself. "I legit thought I was gonna die because that wolf was staring DAGGERS at me! But then you came like some knight in shining armor, and then Taji came in with the arrows and then Izza's spell was like WOW and then Rowen freaking came out of the woodworks with his giant ass hammer-it was fucking wild! We are like the best unit right now. You guys were awesome."

"I think you did pretty good as bait, Mio." Naofumi added, catching a playful punch to the arm from Mio.

"Shut up." She laughed.

Izza approached the two. "I have to give it to you, we truly have a great party. I'll admit I had my doubts about this whole thing-"

Suddenly, Taji interjected. "As she does with anything that's my idea."

"Taji!...But it's working for the better."

"Umm...Lady Taji? How come we haven't gotten any experience points yet?"

"Hmm?"

The question was quickly answered as a much larger wolf than the others jumped down from one of the branches of a tree and landed on top of Naofumi, pushing the Shield hero face first into the ground. The wolf, no doubt the leader, growled and barked at the others before looking down at Naofumi, opening it mouth, ready to take a bite out of Naofumi's flesh.

Endowed with some newfound confidence (as well as not being the one targeted by a wolf), Mio tightly grasped her scepter and raised it to her face. "I give myself to thee, TAKE MY ENEMY!" She quickly pointed the tip of her scepter towards the wolf and the others watched as a stream of red shot forward, snapping towards the wolf leader and enveloping it in a red aura while also freezing it still before it could eat Naofumi.

With the wolf frozen, Mio slowly and carefully raised it off of the shield hero, raising it into the air. Everyone watched in awe. "Um...hello?" Mio called out.

With their attention snapped. Rowen went into action. Much like he did with the other wolves, he swung his hammer and smashed the wolf into the tree, killing it. With that, the aforementioned experience points were awarded to the group. Thanks to the last minute assist from Mio, Naofumi wasn't exempt from getting some of the points as well.

"Wow, that was really something." The group's attention was caught by an approaching Motoyasu along with his party, which seemingly saw a drop in people from earlier.

"Motoyasu? You're in these woods too?" Naofumi asked, throwing a casual wave to the blonde.

"Yeah, we just got finished slaying some direwolves when we heard fighting. "We thought someone might've needed help but we came to see you guys slaying a few moves yourself and you guys looked really cool."

Naofumi smiled. "Thanks-"

"Especially you, Mio!" Motoyasu pushed right past Naofumi, causing the shorter hero to stumble a bit, as he quickly approached Mio, grabbing her hands. "Especially that outfit. You were cute before but now you're hot." Rather than blushing, Mio let out a nervous giggle as she tried to inch away from the Spear Hero but his grip on her hands was tight.

"That's nice of you to say Motoyasu but do you think you could let me go?"

"Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?"

'YES!' Is what she wanted to say but wanting to seem polite at the moment, "A little bit, yes."

"There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm not gonna hurt you. I was just excited to see you and Naofumi again."

Naofumi, sensing Mio's nervousness, had decided to step in. "So, Motoyasu, how's leveling going so far?"

The blonde perked up at the chance to boast about himself. "It's better than great! I was doing pretty good against this HUGE direwolf and then four others jumped out," He pointed back to another blonde, one dressed differently than the others. "Chunhua over there really saved my ass."

Chunhua blushed at the praise before stepping up to the party all the while Malty stared daggers at the back of her head.

'The moment some girl catches his attention, he can't stop boasting about her.' She thought. Her green eyes lingered over to Naofumi, looking him up and down. 'Should've gone with the Shield Hero, bet I could've played him like a fiddle. It would've been easier to isolate him since no one wanted to be near him. The Scepter Hero's party is strict with only their House of Scathanna members being allowed, getting near her wouldn't work. She didn't quite know whether or not if the Sword and Bow heroes were still in Melromarc's capital region. Perhaps the Shield Hero was her only hope to secure…" The wheels in her head were turning. She had pieces but wasn't all that clear on where to place what. She would at least figure out something before everyone began heading further away from the castle in order to level up. For Malty, what was the point of being any of the heroes' party if she wasn't the center of their attention, being allowed to pull their strings for her own benefit.

For now…

"Sir Motoyasu?"

Motoyasu looked back at the redhead, who had a sweet smile painted on her face. "Is something wrong…" The blonde gave her a confused look, it was clear he was trying to remember her name, something that pissed Malty off even more.

"Myne! My name's Myne. I was thinking it's getting really late. Maybe we should start settling down at an inn?"

"Sure!" Motoyasu looked back over to Naofumi and Mio. "You guys coming?"

Izza panicked. "Oh, that sounds fine but we should really-" And she was immediately interrupted by Taji.

"That sounds great! I just so happen to know a really good place."

"Taji!"

The kingdom of Melromarc disliked many things concerning the House of Scathanna. Well, hate is actually the more accurate word to use. They hated how much it differed from their standing Church of Three heroes. They hated how their members "dressed like foreign harlots and vagabonds. They hated the slight at their church's prayers in exchange for "unholy potions". They couldn't decide if they hated when they kept to themselves or when they were out and about in Melromarc. They hated how many unslaved demi-humans they saw walking around in the House's attire.

One thing they especially hated was that no matter where they went, the House always made room for themselves. The Melromarc chantry had once belonged to a nobleman with a fatally sick wife. When no one else was able to heal her, he contacted nearby members of the House for aid and it proved to be his best decision as his wife was cured by one of their elixirs. Figuring that no amount of money would be enough, the former nobleman gave up his large estate as payment.

It took a month for Melromarc to have it's own chantry in working order and many who were loyal to either the nobles or to the church weren't thrilled. But if you asked any of the members if they cared, you'd get a resounding 'no'.

The regent of this chantry, Ellion Dencourt, was no exception to this. At 39 years old, he had found himself not only rewarded with a new base but also the title of regent after saving the noblewoman's life. Things were going right for him. Especially now that the Scepter Hero was summoned to Melromarc. The higher ups back in Oilean Pearl obviously wouldn't be too pleased with this but they had faith that he would teach her right.

...If she would only show up.

The initial plan was that Izza and her coterie would accompany the Scepter Hero and bring her back to the chantry. However, it had been several hours since he sent out the coterie and he was trying his best not to lose his patience. In hindsight, maybe the coterie that involved Taji Ailin and that demi-human Tamara wasn't the smartest move but Rowen MacBreen was always willing to learn and Izza Loughlin was one of the chantry's finest members. It was a yin and yang combination.

Though he didn't know what type of person this incarnation of the Scepter Hero was. If they were like Taji and Tamara, it'd be difficult. If they were like Rowen and Izza, that would be preferable. But there was something unsettling in Dencourt's stomach.

"Regent Dencourt?" The wooden door slowly creeped open to reveal a younger man. A platinum blonde around Naofumi and Mio's age range with a pair of rounded glasses and stoic disposition.

Ellion turned back to see his younger right hand, Silas of Shieldfreeden."Ah, Silas. Any word?"

"Well, the Scepter Hero's coterie was spotted in town going into a blacksmith's shop."

Ellion had a confused look on his face. "Why would they need to go there?"

"Word is they went there on the Shield Hero's request."

"The Shield Hero?"

"Yes, Regent. It would appear that the Scepter Hero has formed a temporary party with the other hero."

Ellion sighed. "I see. Well, do you know where they are currently?"

"Well, they were spotted coming back into town but...not towards the Chantry."

"I see…" The older man turned back to gaze out of his study window, watching the people of Melromarc scatter about. Some heading home and others heading to other places but everyone is still busy before the sun goes down and most would have to retire for the night. "Silas, you keep a tight eye on everyone in the chantry, don't you?"

"As per your request, Sir."

"Tell me, when Sister Ailin and Sister Tamara sneak out for a night of debauchery, where is it they head off to?"

"A tavern that doubles as an inn called Ygritte's Ale. Shall I send some people to go and get them?"

"No need." The platinum blonde grabbed his dark crimson red cloak and draped it over his shoulders before adjusting his glasses and grabbing a black blood with a gold droplet symbol on the front. "I'm perfectly capable of going by myself. I've been keen on meeting our new Scepter Hero and I don't want to give her the impression that she's under strict law. Keep an eye on things here and please put Tamara in her bed and out of sight. I don't want the Scepter Hero to think this is a bar."

"I'll be honest, I came here expecting to see Tamara at the bar. I guess this is one of those days."

Upon entering the tavern, Elena, Lucy, and Chunhua had retired to their own rooms. Taji, Izza, and Rowen had stayed with the group, though Rowen had fallen asleep after eating. Malty was the only one of one of Motoyasu's party that stayed behind. The redhead had hopes that with Chunhua out of the way for the moment, she could woo the Spear hero but it was to no avail as he was quickly infatuated with the idea of speaking to Mio more. It was a whole conversation that she wasn't invited to.

"Blood magic, huh? That sounds kinda scary."

Izza shook her head. "It's only scary if you let wild rumors control your thoughts. Besides, the only person with access to such a power is the Scepter Hero. Not even we can use it."

"So how's the temporary party going with you and Naofumi, Mio?" Motoyasu sat back a bit as he waited for her answer. There was a big part of him that hoped she hated it.

"It's been great! Fumi's really good at being tactical and stuff. It's a good balance because usually when I play games like this my battle plan is to just hit harder. He came up with a whole plan to take down those wolves, right Fumi?"

The Shield hero raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Fumi?"

"Yeah, that's my new nickname for you."

"I don't think that works." He chuckled.

"Why not? It's cute and short."

"Mio…"

"Fine, fine! Out of respect." Mio felt her excitement wind down a bit as she looked down at her drink in front of her.

Taji looked over to Malty. "You know, Myne, you look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?" She inquired.

Malty was a bit surprised by the question but kept her composure, flashing a light smile. "I do get asked that quite often, I guess I just have a familiar face but no. I'm sure I would remember meeting a member of the House of Scathanna." She replied.

"Hmm, I guess so. So, where are you from?"

There was a pause as Malty tried to think of something on the spot. It was dawning on her that she didn't think about her cover too much. "Oh well, my father is a knight in the royal army. He's never done anything too noteworthy, so we've never risen up socially, I'm afraid. I'm hoping my work with Sir Motoyasu will aid my family."

Izza looked sympathetic as she rubbed the sleeping Rowen's back. "That's a very noble goal, Myne. I always find it heartwarming seeing people want to do so much to help their struggling families."

Taji shrugged. "Eh, if I were you, I would've just married a man with a lot of coin. You seem pretty enough to be someone's trophy wife. Maybe not some young lad but maybe an old lord who can bend some marriage rules."

"Taji!" Izza scolded as Malty's mouth dropped in shock.

"What? Melromarc women like hearing things like that. It's a compliment to them." The dark skin redhead said it so nonchalantly.

"Excuse my sister, she's known to be a bit...bold in her words."

"It's quite alright." It was taking so much of Malty to keep her emotions in check. To explode in front of the heroes no less would ruin the image she was building. Tossing her napkin over her half eaten plate of food, Malty stood up from her seat. "I think I've had enough excitement for my first day, I should retire. Sir Motoyasu, I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Myne."

Naofumi watched her walk off, he felt a little bad about Taji's comments. Even though the lighter redhead didn't seem bothered, there was an energy she was giving off that suggested differently.

The hero stood up, catching Mio's attention. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, just heading to find a bathroom really quick." He lied.

Once he walked away from the table, he quickly walked towards Myne before she headed off upstairs.

"Myne!"

The adventurer stopped in her tracks and casually turned around with her eyebrows raised. "Sir Shield Hero?"

Naofumi paused for a bit at the sound of her calling him 'Sir Shield Hero'. "Actually, you can call me Naofumi."

Myne simply gave a short smile and nodded. "Was there something you wanted to talk about...Sir Naofumi?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to apologize about what Taji said to you. I know you didn't want to seem bothered but I could tell it made you feel a certain way about it. She's not really in my party so there's no real way for me to reprimand her about that. I guess...I just wanted to apologize on her behalf."

Myne simply stared at the shield hero with a doe-eyed look before happily nodding. "Thank you Sir Shield Hero, it means a lot that you came to make me feel better. If only I had partied up with you instead."

'She called me Sir Shield Hero again' he thought. "Well, maybe we still can? My arrangement with Mio and her party are only temporary until I can find more people for my party."

The redhead before him felt herself getting annoyed by Naofumi's presence. "Unfortunately, I'm already attached to Sir Motoyasu and it's too much of a hassle to undo it at this time but maybe in the future."

Naofumi was a little disappointed but he was understanding, so he simply nodded. "Well, hope to see you again, have a good night." The scruffy hero waved her off and went back to the table, leaving the redhead to her own thoughts.

She scowled at the heroes retreating back. 'What a loser.' she thought as she turned to head up to the inn only to bump into someone else. "Hey, watch where your-" She stopped mid-sentence as she looked up at the eyes of a familiar face. "Oh...it's you. "

Back at the table, Mio smiled at Naofumi as he sat back down next to her. Once he was settled in his seat, he noticed the table was looking a bit empty from when he left it. Not only was Motoyasu gone but so was both Taji and Izza. Rowen was still very much asleep and was probably going to remain that way until the group was ready to leave.

"Where did everyone go?" Naofumi asked.

"Well, luckily for me, Motoyasu has found a new object to his affection in Izza and followed her when she went to go and get something else to drink. Taji went with them to simply mock her."

"I see."

There was a peaceful smile on Mio's face. "Since we're conveniently alone, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"And that was?"

"Well, I really can't get over today. I was really unsure about how all of this would go but everything that happened so far put me in a really good mood. We make a really good team, right?"

Naofumi didn't really respond verbally and nodded.

"I was wondering, if it's ok with you…"

There was a slight blush creeping up on Naofumi's face with a dopey embarrassed smile . 'I know it's probably not the case but it's really starting to sound like she wants to-'

"Would you want to permanently party up?" She was extremely excited and leaned near Naofumi's face with a huge grin. "I mean, I don't mind splitting my experience points with you and everything. Would that be cool with you?"

Naofumi held an expression that told Mio that he was thinking strongly on it. "To be honest, I was willing to give the whole finding my own members thing a try but with the rush to level up in time for the waves, it does make me wonder if I'll have time to search for people."

"Is that a yes?"

He nodded. "I'd like that a lot, Mio."

"Yay!" The girl gasped. "I wonder if that means you could wear an outfit like Rowen's."

"I don't think so...I feel more comfortable in actual armor."

"Have you seen Rowen, the boy's agile as hell. Plus, your defense is like SUPER high."

"It's not my style."

Mio giggles before letting out a relieved sigh. "Just knowing that we're gonna be teamed up for the waves kind of makes facing it a little less worrying."

"Well, I must say, this is news to me."

The two looked up to see an older man dressed similarly to Mio staring down at them with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Who are you?" Naofumi asked.

"Regent Dencourt!" Izza's sudden yelp captured the attention of the two heroes.

Looking over, Izza had returned with Taji and Motoyasu trailing behind her. The now named Regent Dencourt turned to face the cleric.

"Ah, Sister Loughlin, just the person I was looking for. Well, one of the people." The man looked just past the blue haired woman to see Taji lingering by with her arms crossed and a care in the world. "Sister Ailin." He greeted her.

"Regent Dencourt."

While Motoyasu mindlessly looked on, it was quite clear to both Mio and Naofumi that the two weren't on good terms and they were curious as to how this exchange was going to unfold.

The Regent then looked over to the still sleeping Rowen, comically blowing snot bubbles with his snore-filled exhale.

"Well it would seem that everyone is enjoying themselves. I was wondering where you all had vanished off to. No letters, no ravens, not even a small peasant child to let me know that you were hanging about the slums of Melromarc."

"Regent Dencourt, no need to be so rude to your kin." Taji playfully spoke.

Dencourt didn't say anything, he merely scowled at Taji before turning his attention back to the heroes. "So, what is this I hear about the Shield and Scepter heroes forming a permanent party?"

Izza and Motoyasu's eyes went wide as Taji raised her eyebrows with a smirk. "Really now?" Her voice filled with interest.

Feeling the weight of the attention currently on them. The two felt themselves shrinking. Mio was the one to speak up. "I thought it would be a good idea if Naofumi and I teamed up."

"Really?" The tone of his voice and the way he looked down at Naofumi with a hateful look, told the two what he thought of the situation. "How interesting."

"Would that be ok?" Mio asked.

Dencourt observed Mio, taking in her facial appearance and how the traditional Scepter hero attire had fit her. His scowl quickly changed into a calm smile. "Of course. I apologize for my initial demeanor. I don't know if Izza and the others had informed you but around here, people don't take kindly to our presence. It's important to keep a certain air about us."

Naofumi caught a glimpse of Taji rolling her eyes before Izza silently hit her while keeping her gaze trained on her superior. "Really?" Mio asked. "We didn't really get any treatment like that here."

Dencourt ignored her comment. "Regardless, the Shield Hero is always welcomed among our ranks, here is no exception but may I ask, have you no party members of your own?"

Naofumi blushed in embarrassment and began scratching the back of his head. "I'm afraid not."

"I see. So the drabble here have already started, hm? No matter. If you're going to accompany Madame Scepter hero here, I suggest you get ready. Izza, collect Rowen so we can go. I hope Taji, that this little field trip wasn't in an attempt to get out of your studies for today."

"You always got to assume it's me fooling around?"

"Well, I don't see Tamara with you so out of you three, it's usually always you."

"Hmph." She smirked.

The tall blonde chimed in, making his presence known. "W-wait, you guys are leaving?"

Dencourt looked over, a bit shocked by the sudden appearance of Motoyasu. Confused until he saw the spear sitting beside him. "Ah, the Spear Hero. It's getting late and my acolytes have much to do as do you come morning. Izza." He calmed as he began walking towards the door.

Izza gently but quickly woke up Rowen and trailed behind him. Mio and Naofumi waved goodbye to Motoyasu, leaving him to head upstairs with the rest of his party who had no doubt, went to sleep.

Taji leaned in towards the two. "The reason that no one treated us like crap here is because the poor are more fond of us than the rich."

Naofumi nodded in understanding as he took in the info while Mio giggled.

Naofumi and Mio were both in awe at the estate that stood before them. Regent Dencourt was more than happy to summarize the history of how the group acquired such a house.

He spoke valiantly as he talked about how he managed to cure a newly converted follower's wife who had contracted a fatal disease and had been casted aside by the Church of The Three Heroes who had declared she wouldn't live.

Well the House of Scathanna proved them quite wrong when it came to their clerics. It certainly was no quick fix but needless to say, the nobleman wouldn't have given the Melromarc chapter his ancient home if they failed.

The carriage drive opened the door for the group, allowing the Regent to exit first, followed by Izza, Rowen, Taji, Naofumi then Mio.

The mansion had to be four to five stories and had spanned acres. There were black carriages surrounding the center driveway where a giant pristine fountain stood.

There were several lights within the manor, spread about indicating that even though the moon was ready to be the only light out for miles.

There were sounds of insects of all kinds littered about the grass trying their best to combat the loud rush of the fountain's clear aqua.

"This place is beautiful." Mio was in love.

Izza smiled. "I'm glad it's to your liking."

The group entered the massive place. Upon entering, they were greeted to the sight of several members lined up against the adjacent walls with their hands folded.

Once they all saw Mio dawned in the traditional attire, they all bowed simultaneously with a pleasant 'Welcome Madame Scepter Hero'.

The group walked through the hall. Mio blushed and politely waved to the bowed men and women. Naofumi, on the other hand, found his attention being taken by the interior of the residence.

Yeah, Dencourt mentioned that the guy who use to own it was rich, a noble in fact. But from the looks of things, unless the current occupants never changed a thing about the decor, then the House of Scathanna were pretty well off too.

Most of the walls were painted black as were marbled floors. That is when they weren't covered by scarlet red rugs. There were portraits sporadically placed around on the walls. Some were of beautiful landscapes and others were of various people. Who they were? No idea but Naofumi figured he'd have time in the future to ask. In the meantime, he could gawk at the expensive looking statues and figures alongside the lovingly tended to plants.

The walk ended once they approached Silas, Dencourt's right hand, standing in the same position as the others. Once Mio was closer, he bowed. "Madame Scepter Hero, it's an honor to have you in our chantry."

"I am impressed, Silas. Being able to round up everyone in such short notice?"

"It's not everyone, Regent Dencourt." His voice carried no emotion. "Some went to sleep and I felt it would be rude to wake them."

"Madame Scepter Hero, this is my assistant, Silas of Shieldfreeden. While we all will do our best to make sure your time in this world is satisfactory, he will be on the front lines of that task."

Mio bowed. "Nice to meet you, you can call me Mio. No need to call me Madame."

"Yes, there is." He replied bluntly. "Calling you Madame and calling the Shield hero here is a matter of respect, I would never consider doing something so disrespectful to the people that have our lives in their hands."

Naofumi and Mio exchanged looks. Dencourt chuckled. "Is Madame Mio's room ready?" Silas nodded. Prepare a room for the Shield Hero. It wouldn't be fair for Mio to only get a room designated for her."

"Oh no, that's fine."

"I don't need a room to myself."

Both heroes spoke at the same time to reject the offer but Dencourt his hand to silence them. "You're guests, it's an honor. Plus, The only beds left in the communal bedrooms are in the rooms mostly occupied by our younger acolytes and getting them to stay tidy is proving to be a difficult task especially when considering that most are away from home. They'll get you situated in no time. In the meantime, maybe make yourselves comfortable in our living area. I have some business to take care of." With that, the Regent went off back to his study.

Taji sighed. "Well, while they're rifling through blankets and pillows and dusting, let's have a drink."

"Now?" Izza questioned.

"Oh don't act like your above an evening drink, Loughlin. What kind of pearly are you?" The redhead scoffed.

Izza blushed in both anger and embarrassment before she took hold of Rowen's arm, the boy still rubbing his eyes trying desperately to keep awake. "I'm going to put Rowen in his bed."

The heroes alongside Taji and Silas watched the two ascend up the black, scarlet covered steps. Taji looked over to Silas, who was still standing and watching the other two walk away. "So...asleep, huh?"

"Well, if Tamara was the only one not present that would've been cause for suspicion. If several were asleep that wouldn't be too much." The blonde replied with a sly smirk, the first showcase of emotion that Naofumi and Mio saw.

"You spoil me, Silas."

"No, I put up with your nonsense."

The four walked into the huge living room, a few other people were there, lounging about in their own huddles. Some of them shifted their conversation towards the heroes, others kept their same conversations going.

"This place is amazing." Naofumi stated, taking in the decor still as he sat down on one of the couches beside Mio while Taji sat across from them. Silas stayed standing.

"As much as I would love to stay and keep pleasantries, I have a room to prepare." The blonde bowed and left the room.

Mio rhythmically tapped on her thighs. "So...the Regent?"

"Our wonderful Regent Ellion Dencourt of Melromarc. Pompous arse."

Naofumi laughed nervously. "Not a fan?"

Taji shook her head. "My family's been in this house for ages. I know this stuff like the palm of my hand. Yet he acts like I'm a slow learner because I don't gobble his pinecone like Izza does. I know what I'm doing, I'm from the place this religion comes from and he's some Melromarc bastard whose dad couldn't keep his cock out of his wife's handmaiden."

"Wow, you really don't like him." Mio chuckled. "So what now?"

"Now, once you guys get your rest, we'll make for the next town over or we can just stay here for an extra day or two if you want."

Naofumi looked over to Mio, "It's your party, what's the plan?"

"Jeez, don't leave big decisions like this to me." The heroine whined. "I guess...we can leave. The other guys are probably gonna if Ren and 'Suki haven't left already."

Naofumi felt like sweat dropping. "I forget you started to call him that. We'll definitely need some supplies."

"Well, most of the stuff here is saved for other coteries, but I'm sure I can get Silas to get Dencourt to lend us something for supplies."

"Ah! Plus, Mio, you still have all your money from the King, right?"

"Yep! Didn't have to spend a dime."

"Then we'll be all set for tomorrow."

Taji slouched back against the cushion on the couch. "By morning, Tamara will be ready to go. Especially when she sees a new guy in the party."

"Tamara? Right, your other party member. Where was she today?"

"A hungover mess." The redhead chuckled. "Lass couldn't crawl out of bed. Happens a lot."

"And she's going to be with us?" Mio was a bit concerned about their secret member.

"Oh don't be too worried when it's time to fight she'll blow holes through all our enemies. It's honestly the main reason why Dencourt doesn't want to strip her of her fighting title." The cleric glanced outside the window, seeing the moon had fully risen up in the sky, she stretched and stood up from her seat. "Well, I think it's about time I get some shut-eye. I'll check to see if your room is ready Naofumi. Mio?"

"Oh, I'll just stay here. I'll be up later."

Taji walked out of the common room, leaving the two heroes alone. As she made her way up the stairs and through the halls, she paid little mind to some of the mean glares she was receiving from of her brothers and sisters, only acknowledging the ones that gave a passive wave and 'good night'.

Taji finally came up to the third floor, where the communal room she and the other members of her coterie were assigned along with a few others.

She kept going until she heard the familial voices of both Izza and Regent Dencourt, speaking in poor hushed tones with the door slightly ajar.

"I expected better of you Sister Loughlin, letting Sister Ailin take the reins like that? Is this not your unit?"

"I apologize but Sir Naofumi and Madame Mio weren't opposed to the idea. I thought nothing it wouldn't be too troublesome."

"Clearly, that was wrong. Speaking of the Shield Hero, why is he accompanying you?"

"Uh...there was some Melromarc politics at play and no one joined his party. I would've advised her Madame Mio against it but she was determined...also...Sister Ailin did assist."

"Of course." Taji smirked at the sound of annoyance coming from Dencourt. "And now we're in this business of the two wanting to form a permanent party."

"Regent, if I could speak, the Scepter Hero has a loophole, I don't see what's wrong with them staying together. Any chance that the heroes can stay together is welcomed when it comes to the Waves, why do you seem bothered?"

"Waves be damned. We're entering a dangerous shift. With the Queen mending bridges, we have to be on alert with both the church and the King. The Scepter Hero being present now is more than welcomed in terms of assets."

A look of worry appeared on Izza's face. "You don't think there's going to be another crusade, do you?"

"No. Nothing like that. At least not for now." The Regent replied. "But we can't have her being too focused on the Shield Hero."

"Well, I've seen the Shield Hero in battle and he seems very promising. Maybe once he's proven himself more to other adventurers as someone worthy to follow, I can convince him to branch off." The girl suggested with a hopeful smile.

The Regent leaned back in his chair, placing a hand on his chin almost as if he was thinking on Izza's suggestion. "That does sound like an interesting idea. If you're sure, I'll entrust the task to you and I'll hope that you don't let Taji throw you off course."

"Of course Regent."

"Have a good night."

Hearing the ending to their meeting, Taji quietly walked on ahead to lean against the wall. The study door creaked open and out came Izza, who let out a relieved sigh before making her way to the room, stopping dead in her tracks upon seeing the current bane of her existence.

"Hello, pet." Taji greeted with a smirk.

"You're still up? About to sneak out are you?"

"Actually, I was just off to bed when I heard an interesting noise." The redhead feigned a pondering look. "Like the sound of a lap dog begging for treats."

The blue-haired woman contorted her face into a look of pure rage, silently snarling at Taji before fixing her face. "So you heard?"

"Of course."

"Well then, you know that the Regent and I would appreciate if you didn't interfere with making sure Madame Mio stays on the right track."

"We'll see, we've got a few weeks before the Waves, let's see how either of the heroes feel about that then. I'm always a sucker for watching you and the Regent get those sticks up your arses in a twist." Taji chuckled and she walked off.

Izza simmered in her anger before reluctantly heading in the same direction. Unbeknownst to the two, a third party was listening in just as Taji did. There are always eyes lurking in these chantries.

_Back downstairs…_

Mio and Naofumi were reminiscing about their home lives and particularly what they would miss while they were here. From food and sweet, to different tv shows and movies.

"So wait? The Queen's kids are actually kids she had with her brother?" Naofumi looked confused and disgusted. "And no one knew?"

"No one knew until the King's assistant looked into and noticed that every child born from the King's family had dark hair, even the King's bastards."

"I really hope we don't have to deal with anything like that here."

"I don't know. This place does seem more cookie cutter than Westeros. I mean, sure the Waves are probably not gonna be a walk in the park but at least…"

There was a short pause before Naofumi spoke up. "At least what?"

"I was gonna say at least there's no looming threat of the undead but I'm pretty sure that will be the waves." She giggled embarrassed, rubbing the back of her head.

The common area had started to get empty as the few groups that were left when Taji was still here had begun to head back to their rooms.

"Sir Naofumi." The scruffy haired hero turned to seen the returning Silas, standing with that same stoic expression with folded hands behind his back. "It took some dusting but your personal room is ready and fitted with comfortable sheets."

"Thanks. Silas, right?"

The blonde nodded before bowing. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some studies to finish up before I turn in." He then walked off.

Mio sighed, getting up from the couch and heading towards the door. "I guess we should get some shut eye too. See you in the morning, Naofumi."

"Wait! I could walk you to your room."

"Oh what a gentleman."

"I'm pretty sure we'll be on the same floor, that way we won't get lost like in the castle."

"Ooooh, good point."

With still a few lingering gazes of a few house members not all that tired.

_The next morning…_

Naofumi felt groggy this morning. Not waking up naturally tends to do that to you, especially when someone's banging on the door like a fire broke out and the whole place needed to be evacuated. The hero leaned up and tried rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

CRASH!

The door to his new bedroom was busted open with brute force thanks to the hulking boy known as Rowen. He leaned against the door, still clutching onto the knob, it was clear he was trying to keep his balance. The brunete was heaving with drops of sweat sporadically placed around his face.

"Rowen! Are you alright?!"

"ARE YOU?!"

"Huh?"

The demi-human boy approached Naofumi's bed with widened eyes. "The King's imperial guard is here, they say you're under arrest!"

"Huh?" Naofumi felt his gaze widened and his heart sank. "That...that can't be true I was here the whole night. What do you mean I'm under arrest?!"

"I don't know, Izza asked me to see if you're ok. You didn't do anything, right?" There was clear worry in the boy's voice.

"No, I didn't." Naofumi quickly stood up to grab all of his armor, however he discovered a shocking site, his armor and everything he bought from Erhard's shop was gone. He felt his heart rate increasing and was suddenly having breathing quick breaths."T-this...this doesn't make sense. Where's my stuff?" It was a small hopeful thought that he wasn't the only victim. "What about Mio? Is she ok?"

"Shield Hero!" A gruff voice called out from the hall. Rowen jumped slightly at the sound of the man's voice. The clanging of armor and the loud footsteps of multiple heavy people coming towards the room. Three men covered in armor with sour expressions had blocked off the doorway to the room with the presumed leader of the trio being the only one to enter. "By order of King Aultcray Melromarc, you are under arrest and hereby ordered to appear before the King for your trial!"

"Trial? I didn't even do anything!" The poor hero shouted.

The guard scowled at him. "Don't lie filthy scum!" He then grabbing his arm and yanking him towards the other two guards who wasted no time in restraining him and bringing him downstairs.

"Sir Naofumi!" Rowen cried.

The door to Mio's bedroom opened, revealing her worried expression just as Naofumi was escorted past her room. "Naofumi!? What's going on?"

Naofumi had stopped in his tracks, irritated the guards as he looked back at Mio. "Mio! I've been ro-" Naofumi was cut off when the two guards pushed him forward.

"What!? Wait! Where are you taking him?"

The trio leader walked up to Mio. "The same place you're going. The King's requested the presence of all the Cardinal Heroes."

"All of us?"

Taji, Rowen, and Izza had told Mio that they would catch up, allowing Mio to ride in the carriage along with Naofumi, however one of the guards had sat between the two for reasons he wasn't planning on deliberating on.

There was a growing mix of panic and frustration between the two heroes. Naofumi was finding it difficult to breathe while Mio was becoming frustrated. She looked over to see him fidgeting with his fingers. Feeling a pang of pity, she reached over the guard and took hold of his hand, catching his attention with a smile. While it didn't completely wash away his growing anxiety, the Shield Hero felt a bit more at ease.

After what seemed ages due to the panic, the carriage had finally arrived at the castle gates and the heroes were escorted in. The moment they had reached the tall doors to the throne room, two of the guards roughly grab Naofumi by his arms before pushing him through the doors causing him to stumble. Mio jogged in after them, keeping her same worried expression.

Much like during the gathering of heroes, the throne was filled with people, mostly nobles and a few of the King's advisors. Also in attendance were Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki and their parties. Everyone's eyes were on Naofumi and they were not pleased by the sight.

Naofumi looked around the room before his eyes landed on the king who shared the same expression as the others.

"As ordered, we've brought the Shield Hero for his trial." One of the arresting men announced.

The king nodded. "And I see the Scepter Hero is also here, then we may begin."

"What trial?! If anyone should be tried it should be the person that stole my equipm-"

"SILENCE YOU SCUM!" The King's voice boomed throughout the room as his face contorted with a strong rage.

The yelling takes Naofumi aback. "I don't understand…"

As Mio inched closer behind Naofumi, Motoyasu growled. "Trying to play dumb? Could you sink any lower?!"

"What are you talking about?!"

Finally, Mio raised the question once more. "You can't just arrest Naofumi and not tell us what he's being arrested for. That can't be legal."

"It surprises me none that the Scepter Hero is unaware of what you've done. The Shield Hero is being arrested for rape of Motoyasu's party member, Myne."

The announcement stunned both Mio and Naofumi, Mio felt a part of her lose focus for a split second. Naofumi looked over to 'victim' in question, spotting the fair redhead cowering behind Motoyasu."Rape? I didn't do anything like that I would've never done something like that!" Naofumi shouted, there was desperation in his voice.

"There's no point in lying." Came the stoic tone of Ren. "We have more than enough evidence to prove your crimes."

"Evidence?" Mio questioned. "What evidence? Naofumi was with me the whole night and nothing like that happened. He barely talked to Myne the whole time we were with Motoyasu's party."

"That's not what Myne says." Motoyasu shot back, the aggressive tone catching Mio off guard.

The king nodded. "Myne, I'm sorry to ask this of you once more but could please retell the events that happened to you?"

With all eyes on Myne, no one noticed Mio's party quietly entering the doors. Rowen, Izza, Taji, and a rabbit Demi-human woman with brown hair and an athletic build.

The girl nodded, her face looked like she'd been crying and was now trying to hold back tears. "It started when I was heading up to my room. The Shield Hero stopped me. At first he was apologizing about some things that one of Madame Scepter Hero's party members said to me. Then he started telling me how pretty I looked…"

Naofumi couldn't believe what he was hearing. Yeah he wanted to apologize on Taji's behalf but all this talk of complimenting her?

"I was flattered at first but then he started getting touchy with me and I left him as quickly as I could. I thought it would be the end of that as Sir Motoyasu told me they had all left. I didn't want to say anything. I didn't want to make a fuss." Most of the people in this room hung onto her every word. Motoyasu placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Myne's voice sounded so innocent but to Naofumi, it was all a lie. He was so focused and scared of the story being told he was oblivious to the scared side eye glances he was getting from Mio.

Mio shook off the fear. "N-Naofumi is not like that, he wouldn't do that."

"How would you know, Mio?" Itsuki asked. "You've only just meant him."

"We've been alone together before and he has never…" She was suddenly getting unwanted feelings of deja vu. "He did. anything to me."

"You're not even sure!" Motoyasu yelled. Naofumi looked over to Mio to see the cogs turning in her head. It was clear she was in doubt.

"Maybe you weren't his type." Ren added.

"Later on that night...someone knocked on my room door. I was surprised it was Sir Shield Hero again only, he had a more evil glint in his eye. The moment I opened the door, he forced his way in and...and…" Myne started tearing up, her sniffles prompted Motoyasu to wrap his arms around her, comforting her. "He said no one would believe me because I was just some slut and he was a hero. He could do whatever he wants now."

That was the breaking point for Mio as it felt like the world was going in and out of focus for her. Everyone's voices distort as it did.

"THAT'S A LIE!" It was Naofumi's breaking point. When he stepped forward, the knights without missing a beat restrained him. "YOU'RE LYING!"

Aultcray stood from his throne, his face filled with rage once more."ENOUGH OUT OF YOU!"

Itsuki scoffed. "Using your status to take advantage of someone? How low can you get?"

Naofumi glanced at Myne who held her face her hands while still being held by the tall blonde. It was then where he saw, she peeked out from behind her fingers and flashed him an evil smirk before quickly sticking her tongue out and resuming her facade. Naofumi's eyes went wide as he felt a rage building up inside him, realizing he was going to get nowhere with everyone, he turned Mio.

"Mio, you have to trust me! I didn't do ANYTHING to her! Tell me you trust me!"

It echoed to Mio as she slowly looked over to him and he saw her eyes becoming glossy as her mouth was slightly agape. Before she could stutter out a response, Taji spoke up.

"It was a long ride from the inn to the chantry. Why would he make the trip just to come back for Myne?"

It was as if Taji's words were a godsend. Mio felt the daze going away and Naofumi felt relieved, someone had his back.

"Isn't it obvious?" Itsuki. "Since we're not allowed to party up together so he figured this would be his only chance to get his revenge on the girl who turned him down."

"Seems like a lot of work." Taji shrugged.

"You doubt her story?" The King questioned her in a threatening tone.

"I'm trying to see the full picture and it doesn't make sense."

"Well, if you need more convincing we have witnesses."

"Witnesses?" Taji looked around the throne room, looking for anyone who seemed to be the witnesses in question. "Where?"

"They have chosen to remain anonymous but we have witnesses from the inn who saw the Shield Hero come back to the inn and there are even witnesses from YOUR group that say they saw him leave the chantry."

"You know, where I come from, when people claim to have witnesses, they bring them forth to testify."

"Well, as I said, they've chosen to remain anonymous."

"All of them?"

"THERE'S NO POINT IN DEFENDING THAT PIECE OF SHIT!" Motoyasu screamed.

Taji scowled at Motoyasu before turning to Naofumi. "Naofumi, where were you last night?"

"I was—"

"I will not allow the Shield Hero to spread any lies. We've already heard Myne's testimony. I hereby declare that the Shield Hero is guilty! Any other person and they would've been swiftly executed."

He was interrupted. All of the microaggressions for the past two days had led up to this. While this was a thing Naofumi expected, he was not the least bit surprised that it happened. People in this kingdom didn't want him here. To them, he was like some unwanted stepchild. To make matters worse, the chattering was starting.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before the Shield Hero did something repulsive."

"Taking advantage of a girl like that? How detestable."

"We shouldn't have summoned the Shield Hero in the first place."

Each sentence coming out of the mouth of the onlookers helped to light the fire building within the scrutinized hero.

'This damn shield.' He thought. "Fine!" Naofumi shouted. "Then send me back! It's obvious I'm not wanted here!" Mio felt a pang of guilt, wishing she could've done more in that moment. "I could care less about what happens to your piece of shit country! Let me go home and you can get someone else to screw over."

The king was obviously furious with the remark as well as several other people in the court. "As much as I would love nothing more than to send you back, unfortunately we cannot send a hero back unless all five heroes are dead."

This bit of information shocked all the heroes. Naofumi smirked evilly. "So then, you're stuck with me just as much as I'm stuck with you?"

"Don't think this means you're getting off scot-free. We may not be able to imprison you, send you back, or execute you but we can still make sure the people of these lands know of your crime. From this day forward, your detestable crime shall be known far and wide!"

"Whatever!" Naofumi yanked himself out of the guards' grip, turning away from everyone and headed towards the door.

Motoyasu stepped forward. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"What does it look like? If I'm going to be stuck here fighting the Waves, I need to level as much as I can." He stole an angry glance at Mio as he left the room.

Mio looked back at his leaving form. "Naofumi!" She shouted, running after him. Motoyasu was about to give chase to stop her but was quickly distracted by the "distressed" Myne, tightening her grip on him.

While she still had her damsel in distress facade going strong, inside her mind, she was thrilled that everything went according to plan.

_Outside…._

"Naofumi!"

Ignore.

"Naofumi!"

Ignore.

"Naofumi, stop!"

The hero paused before turning to face Mio. The anger still present on his face. "What do you want?"

"To apologize! I...don't know what came over me, I didn't mean to leave you out there like that. It's just that everything happened so fast and I-I—"

"I don't give a damn about your apology!"

Mio was stunned. "What…?"

"It's your fault I'm even in this mess!"

"Wha...MY FAULT?!"

"If you didn't suggest we permanently party up, I probably would've been long gone from this damn place and would've never been accused of shit!" He yelled.

Mio stuttered, trying to find the right words. Her face had gradually gone from shocked to angry, her voice becoming more furious. "You would've been gone? That's the conclusion you jumped to? Hate to break it to you, Shield Hero, but I'm not quite sure how you would've managed to get anywhere when no one wanted to party with you!"

"You know what I find funny? How my stuff managed to get stolen but yours is fine!" He gestured to Mio's outfit.

"What?! You think I conspired with people I just met to steal from you? For what?!"

"Where was all this defensive rage back in the throne room, huh? Couldn't stand up to everyone else then but you can stand up to me now?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE TREATING ME LIKE I HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS!"

Naofumi scoffed. "I don't need to deal with this. Just go back to your little party. I'm done looking at everyone here, INCLUDING YOU!"

Mio watched Naofumi walk off and while the better part of her wanted to apologize for saying what she said as well as for not standing up for him better back there, the petty part of her took hold. "FINE! I'M DONE BABYSITTING YOU!"

* * *

My initial plan was to have the King avoid calling Mio for *spoiler reasons* but I wasn't feeling it too much. I wanted there to be some seeds of doubt since I didn't want her to blindly believe him. I think this works better because neither of them are really solely vilified in my eyes because they both didn't respond to the situation afterwords (with each other) a good way with Naofumi casting blame on Mio and Mio giving in to the anger and saying things she didn't mean or truly believe.


	5. One Sided Regrets

I know, I know, it's been a while and I deeply apologize for that but life has been hectic on my end and 2020 sucks. ^_^

Also, I'd like to address some of the comments from the last chapter.

After rereading the last bit of chapter four, I realized there wasn't much detail so it might've seemed off a bit so I went back and edited the last part while also adding a bit of details.

RECAP: So where we left off, the great accusation occurred and caused a great falling out between Naofumi and Mio where Naofumi assumed Mio was in on it. Mio didn't really help the situation by immediately getting aggressively defensive. Amidst the chaos, one has to wonder: where did this accusation come from?

TW: R*pe mention

* * *

To say that Naofumi was simply upset would be an understatement. The Shield Hero's mind was clouded, constantly replaying the events of last night and this morning in his head, channeling his anger into destroying the different colored balloons.

The night before...how his act of kindness was used as the foundation for Myne's accusation. Rape? He would never. The thought to do that kind of thing to her or any other person never once crossed his mind. But everyone was caught in every word she said. Hook, line, sinker. Naofumi didn't even get a chance to defend himself properly, everyone shot him down before he could say anything.

_POP!_

His fist came into contact hard with a red balloon, in his angry state, he didn't even notice the look of pure terror that formed on the creature's face before it exploded. '"THAT DUMBASS WOULDN'T EVEN LET ME SPEAK!" He shouted, referring to Motoyasu who was clearly ready to attack Naofumi during the whole trial as well Itsuki & Ren. 'He was probably in on it along with…' There was a flash of Mio's smile from yesterday. The excitement in her eyes. '_She_ was definitely in on it. She was helping that bitch set me up."

You could ask him how and why Mio would team up with a girl she barely knew to screw up Naofumi's life here but you wouldn't get a logical reason from Naofumi, not now. Nothing but hate and anger. For all he knew, she probably agreed with the Shield Hero being the "loser class" and conspired to get rid of him. He was thinking about early this morning, when he woke up to find that all of his stuff was missing. 'No one but Mio could've done that. All of my stuff is probably tucked away in her room or something.' He desperately wanted to storm the chantry and find it just to see the look on her face when he "revealed" her treachery.

He then thought on when she came out to talk to him. Thinking about it only made it worse. 'That...' His brain was scouring all over to find something insulting to call to her. He didn't even want to think about her name. Myne was Bitch', Motoyasu was 'Dumbass', but what was Mio? That's when he went to her outfit. How it complimented her thicker body like the slits that… "cow…" was the only thing he muttered out.

"That cow really came up to me to try and make it seem like she wasn't in on it." His voice was low, bordering the lines of evil. The balloons surrounding him didn't even bother attacking, the creatures all kind of looked enamored by the menacing aura he was giving off. "That cow really thinks I'm an idiot."

He kept repeating the insult, as if trying to make it stick like 'Bitch' did. Cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow. He was essentially training his brain to only see Mio that way. Any and all thoughts and memories from yesterday and the day before were not to be seen in a positive light. 'It was all a trick.' He told himself.

Everyone was against him, including her.

The ride back to the chantry was a silent one. Izza had plans to console Mio during the whole ride but didn't take into account the idea of her riding outside, sitting next to the driver who had no objections. Everyone else inside the cart sat in their own awkward silence. Taji sat next to Tamara near the back while Izza and Rowen were seated right by the window which allowed them to speak to the driver and Mio should she be in the mood.

Taji didn't have a sly remark to offer for the silent ride. Or she did but it was only reserved for whenever Izza said something. This whole ordeal was definitely not something Tamara wanted to join in on. The mysterious last member of Mio's coterie who was M.I.A yesterday but seemed to have sobered up today just in time.

The rabbit demi-human was a brunette who had her hair styled in two separate French braids that mingled nicely with her brown bunny ears. She wore the same attire, the massive difference being the length of her skirt...or lack thereof. Tamara's reached down to the middle of her toned thighs with a hint of some type of shorts underneath as to not expose underwear she may or may not be wearing. Much like Taji and Rowen, she wore the bracelets, indicating that she was a fighter as well.

She looked between her coterie members before her eyes landed on her fellow demi-human, Rowen, who looked just as awkward as she did despite being here for the whole thing since day 1. Tamara sighed, 'I guess I'm gonna have to be the one to do something.' she thought.

"How 'bout we go for a drink?" Tamara suggested with her cockney-like English accent accessorizing her words.

Izza automatically rolled her eyes. Rowen, sensing her annoyance, tried to chime in. "_Miss_ Tamara," Izza said the 'miss' part with a clear attitude. "I don't think now's a good time-"

"NONSENSE! Emotions are running wild, we're stressed-well...you're all stressed-a drink is EXACTLY what we need." The brunette leaned over and knocked on the carriage window, alerting the driver as well as Mio, who did him the solid of opening it. "Mio, right? You want a drink or what?"

The Scepter Hero furrowed her brows at the question, somewhat caught off-guard by the question. "Like...now?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tamara nodded. "I know a good place. It's a small bar that caters to demi-humans hiding here in Melromarc. Nice and discreet and considering you're the Scepter hero and all, they'll be more than welcoming to you. They might even give us free drinks." She explained with a troublemaking smirk. "Whaddya say?"

Mio thought about it for a bit before flashing a sincere small smile. "Alright Bunny Girl, show us this secret happy place."

"Haha! I like you already! Reiner, let's go get woozy, eh?" The term "woozy" causing Mio to raise her eyebrow again.

The driver, Reiner, smirked. "I'm driving, Tamara."

"Two drinks for you then, more for us! Get us to the _Grey Lamb_!" She ordered.

"Tamara, we're supposed to get back to the Chantry, Regent Dencourt would want to know this happened."

"I'm sure Dencourt knows what happened, that man has more informants than the damn nobles. The only reason he wants you to say something is to test your loyalty. We all know that."

This earned a scowl from Izza. "You say that like it's a bad thing." She muttered.

Tamara shifted in her seat with a smirk, looking Izza up and down. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

Mio couldn't really understand why, but the _Grey Lamb _made it feel like there was a weight lifted. True to Tamara's word, the little was isolated and filled with demi-humans of all kinds. Rabbits, racoons, bears, and all other types.

The inside was jovial, none of the patrons had a care in the world, like they weren't being discriminated against in Melromarc. Like they weren't on the move trying to find better pastures from this hellhole that the King and his court called a "beautiful" home. And in here, Mio and her party were more than welcome.

They were seated without issue and even though many people wanted to crowd the hero in awe, Tamara-who was clearly a regular-made it clear that Mio wasn't to be hounded after today's events, which everyone knew of by now thanks to King Melromarc.

Izza was more than pissed off but didn't want to make a scene in front of so many people. Taji and Rowen didn't have too many complaints while Tamara revelled in the free service.

"You know, I was worried that being assigned to babysit the Scepter Hero was going to be a drag but you're proving to be pretty cool already, Madame Mio." Tamara said, licking some red sauce off of her finger from her meal.

"Gee, thanks." Mio responded with a monotone...tone.

Taji leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms. "I still can't believe Sir Naofumi lashed out at you like that."

"Only because he thinks we had something to do with it." Izza added.

Rowen looked at Izza curiously. "Did we have something to do with it?"

Izza looked to him with a wide-eyed expression. "Of course not! What would make you ask something like that?" To that question, the boy simply shrugged, not saying anything else afterwards.

Both Mio and Taji individually caught wind of the question as well as Izza's response to it but neither saying anything, figuring Izza would just brush it off out of fear of making The House look bad in any way.

Instead, Taji looked to Mio. "So what happened in there, Scepter Hero? Couldn't help but notice you froze up in there."

Mio paused and had a guilty look on her face. "I uh…I guess…"

"You didn't know whether to believe him."

Mio shared a gaze with Taji, who had a nonchalant but stern look to her eyes. The redhead tilted her head to the side, awaiting an answer.

"I guess...yeah. Wait no. I didn't think so, I was just...confused?"

"Confused?"

"Yeah, I mean I didn't think he did it but at that moment...I didn't want to doubt Myne. Having that type of doubt casted on you because of your place compared to the person that harmed you...it's not good."

Taji nodded. "You have experience."

There was a pause before Mio gave a defeated nod. "Yeah...back in my world."

Izza leaned in. "Do you want to talk about-"

"Izza don't you know it's rude to ask people questions like that?" Tamara interrupted.

Taji straightened herself up. "Alright then...how 'bout this? Do you think...Sir Naofumi is guilty?"

There was a brief silence from Mio as well as everyone else at their table as they awaited her answer. The Scepter Hero shook her head. "I don't think so. My...issues aside, it doesn't make any sense when you think about it. From the capital to the chantry, it's too far to go just to attack someone unless you REALLY hate them and wanna assert some dominance over them. As far as I know, Naofumi only just met Myne that day. Unless he has a thing against redheads, I don't find it possible that he had some bad thoughts towards her."

Taji nodded as Izza prodded a bit more. "So...are you suggesting he was framed?"

"Yeah, I think so but why?"

"Most likely because he's the Shield Hero." Tamara answered as she continued eating. "A lot of the nobles in Melromarc don't really take too kindly to the Shield Hero."

"Why?" Mio asked.

Rowen was the one to answer this time. "Oh! Because there was a war between Demi-Humans and the humans here in Melromarc and a Shield Hero aided the Demi-Humans. That's why a lot of Demi-Humans respect Shield Heros so much."

"I see…and how long ago was this?"

"Don't remember exactly but Mr. MacBreen told me that Melromarc always held it against the Shield Heroes. That's why The Church of the Three Heroes are...well...The Church of the Three Heroes."

"Well now summoning everyone to Melromarc doesn't make sense. Well...it never did but summoning the Shield Hero to Melromarc especially?" Izza added. "If they're not over it then that means that they should've left Shieldfreeden with the Shield Hero and call it a day. What's the point?"

"Maybe there is none?" Tamara suggested.

"To get him out of the way?" Taji added. "Out of the way of what though?"

Mio shook her head of the question. "Maybe let's not start there. How about...the witnesses. The King said there were witnesses from the chantry, right? If this is all a set up why were these _witnesses_ in on it?"

"Maybe Aultcray was lying." Suggested Izza. "I mean, him and his flock are not exactly subtle about how much they hate our presence here. I highly doubt anyone would be working with him."

"...How 'bout the Regent?" Taji let out.

This suggestion caused Izza to roll her eyes and send a glare towards the redhead. "Don't be ridiculous. Out of everyone in the chantry, Regent Dencourt would NEVER do such a reckless thing. We're not meant to be getting involved with Melromarc politics. What would he have to gain?"

This time, it was Taji's turn to glare at Izza. "I don't know, you tell me."

"What are you guys talking about?" Mio was visibly confused alongside Rowen. Tamara was confused too but kept it more subtle.

Taji threw her hands up in defense. "I'm just saying we shouldn't count our dear old leader out."

"Key word: **leader**. There is nothing he would gain from this. He's already in a position of power."

"Then that leaves someone who may not be in a position of power...but wants to be."

Rowen spoke up. "I'm confused, are we trying to figure out who could've helped set Sir Naofumi up?"

"Yes, Rowen." Taji replied.

Rowen perked up with a smile. "Oh, why don't we ask Silas? He sees everything, right? Miss Taji said so." There was a silence between everyone but Rowen was once again confused. "Did I say something wrong?"

Taji smirked. "No actually...you might've pointed us in the right direction, Rowen my boy." The demi-human gave an innocent smile at the reassurance. "Silas does in fact see all. So if _anyone_ saw Sir Naofumi leaving the chantry...it would've been him…"

Mio decided to fill in the rest. "Or would've been him seeing someone else claim that. If he's this magical witness, then he'd want…" She spoke as if she was waiting for the others to fill in the blanks, which Tamara happily obliged to. "Regent Dencourt is in charge but when it comes to leaving someone else in charge for a while, there's no other person he trusts more than Silas. Silas is his right hand."

"A right hand probably looking to be the top man." Mio finished.

"So...Silas claims Naofumi assaulted the Myne girl...how does that get him closer to being a Regent himself?"

A brief silence then a snap from Taji caught everyone's attention. "Attention. Chantries outside of Oilean Pearl are strongly ordered to stay out of the political business of other kingdoms unless intervention is needed. Dencourt doesn't exactly follow those rules, he's constantly mingling with the nobles of the place, trying to get some foot in the door to make The House more..._liked_. The Melromarc Chantry's generally been silent and Dencourt assured the chantry back home that he'll see to getting Madame Mio settled. Silas brings attention to Dencourt's workings and gets his position revoked, maybe?"

"Do people in the Melromarc chantry like Silas more?" Mio asked.

Taji nodded. "I like Silas more."

Rowen also agreed. "He's nicer to me then Dencourt."

Tamara chimed in. "I'm fond of leaders with no sticks up their asses."

The only one who didn't agree was Izza. "Everyone only likes Silas more because he gives in to everyone's laziness when Regent Dencourt isn't looking."

Taji fiddled with her nails as she muttered under her breath. "Laziness she says…"

"Silas is not fit to lead...permanently. However, asking him to his face would definitely not give an actual answer. We need to be careful about getting this information."

"And then what?" Tamara asked.

Izza looked annoyed with the question. "We help clear the Shield Hero's name. King Aultcray himself said that there were witnesses from OUR chantry. We prove that it's a lie, it breaks down the whole assault claim. But we need a confession."

"We NEED..." Taji interrupted, "to make sure that Silas is the culprit first. And to that...we're going to have to keep a nice eye and everyone and everything that's going on within our chantry. Until then...Mio."

"Yeah?"

"You need to apologize to Sir Naofumi."

"...yeah...I know. Hopefully, he's still somewhere in the city."

~_Meanwhile_...

It had been a long day for Naofumi. He assumed the days would just get longer given his current circumstances. With no one to fight for him, he has to put in extra effort just to kill some damn balloons. The bright side being that when they attacked it was ALMOST as about as painful as getting a shot. But he was able to make some decent money back especially after that bitch robbed him blind. He even got rid of the bozos who tried robbing him.

Now he was trying to figure out where he could sleep for the night. Finding a place to stay was going to be hard.

"Excuse me, Sir Shield Hero~"

A voice beckoned from the darkness of a nearby alleyway. If Naofumi was back home, he definitely would've kept walking. Nothing good would've come out of some mysterious voice calling him from an alleyway of all places. That's how you find yourself in Stolen Kidney City.

However, Naofumi didn't really feel an urge to flee. Maybe there was a part of him lowkey wishing he died just to see if he could get sent back to his world. There was a part that told him to keep moving because nothing good could come of this. Then there was a curious part of him that wanted to see how this would play out in this fantasy world. Needless to say, the curious side won for the night.

There was a slight regret when Naofumi spotted a short, suspicious man with a devious smile rubbing his hands together. He definitely looked like he steals and sells kidneys.

"I think I have something you might be interested in. Something that aids you quite well during the waves."

* * *

It was only until recently that I realized I uploaded this to Ao3 but not here. Sorry about that. I figured now is the best time since I'm almost done with chapter 6, I'm having so much fun writing it. I love mysteries.


	6. A Stirring Resolve and An Only Choice

On a normal day, Naofumi probably wouldn't be following some strange man into a strange tent because he knew that could end with Naofumi _strangely_ missing a kidney. However, there was something different about his natural demeanor at this point. It wasn't too surprising. The man became a nation-wide pariah in the span of a day. It was safe to say he probably didn't care about his life too much at this moment. So he decided to humor this strange man.

"I'm quite pleased you accepted my invitation." The man said as he guided the Shield Hero through a maze of wares.

'This was definitely a shady man.' The hero thought.

The inside of the tent was dimly lit which gave all of the items covered in purple sheets a more eerie look to them. Were they slaves? Cursed objects? Pieces of armor acquired through sketchy means? Maybe something related to illegal animal trading. Now that he thought about it, it was probably a bad idea for him if he was caught here, considering his place as Melromarc's main public enemy.

"So what do you want with me?" Naofumi asked.

The short man stopped in the center of his large tent and turned to face the hero. The man gave an evil chuckle. "I think you and I can help each other, Sir Shield Hero..." The man began pacing around Naofumi, circling him like the Devil looking for a deal. "After all...you and I are in the same boat when it comes to this country. You're now known as the Devil of the Shield and me...well, I'm a merchant of...ill goods."

Naofumi didn't respond but from the look on his face, the merchant could tell he had the hero's attention. This knowledge caused the merchant to smirk.

"I saw your exchange with a merchant earlier and how he let something as petty his own personal code get in the way of a deal."

That wasn't it at all and Naofumi knew that. That merchant from earlier obviously couldn't care less about the "victim". Naofumi knew that the merchant was only taking advantage of the situation and probably would've tried to cheat him even if Myne didn't screw him over. Knowing how most people act when it comes to Naofumi and his shield, the merchant would've tried to screw him over based on that alone.

Of course, this was only the logical part of Naofumi's brain trying to reason with him but that was a lost effort. Naofumi simply wasn't in that headspace.

"So what? You wanna sell me illegal crap?" The hero asked, crossing his arms.

"Illegal? No, no, no. You have a duty to uphold as the Shield Hero of this world whether your detractors like it or not. If you as the Shield Hero cannot perform your protective duties then...well, you'll die and our world will be in greater danger than it already is." The man explained as he kept this untrustworthy smirk that made Naofumi uncomfortable.

"So you want to help me because your life's at risk too? Seems reasonable."

The creepy merchant nodded. "As a merchant, I have a duty to uphold myself. To protect my _interests_. Having the end of the world simply wouldn't allow me to do that and if I'm in a position to aid the heroes of this world, what type of merchant would I be to ignore a righteous cause."

Naofumi felt annoyed by this spiel this man was going on. "So what're you selling?"

The short man chuckled. "Word traveled fast of your unfortunate incident with a female party member. So what I offer is an easy solution to that problem. A party member that can raise no objections,"

'I do not like where this is going…'

"A party member that would do their best to keep you safe as if their life depended on it. One who'll never plot against you," The man placed a hand beside his mouth as if conveying confidential information, beckoning Naofumi to lean forward a bit. "Imagine a party member that won't turn their back on you." The man knew it would strike a chord with Naofumi, even if the Shield Hero didn't show it.

As if a part of some grand introduction, the purple curtains covering all of the cages were snatched away revealing a plethora of beasts of varying types. Each and every one of them was snarling and growling at both men.

Naofumi's eyes panned around at the different creatures giving him death glares. Almost similar to the ones thrown at him back in the King's throne room. Maybe he deserved these though compared to last time. He's still sane enough to admit that.

"Demi-humans?" He asked.

The man shook his head. "More than anything else. I have a variety of them, each capable of assisting you in whatever you may need. Especially fending off the waves."

"Demi-human slaves, huh?"

"Yes, if I'm not mistaken, the Scepter Hero also has a demi-human slave as well."

The comment gave Naofumi a pause. "Rowen's a slave?" He muttered, unfortunately, the merchant heard.

"Yes, most Demi-Humans in Melromarc are. I'd imagine so is the demi-human in Madame Scepter Hero's party. Tell me, have you seen the demi-human in action?"

"Only a little." The Shield Hero thought back to when they fought the wolves, Rowen showed himself to be quite strong wielding the giant Warhammer. He didn't think too much about it back then but now he was putting something together. Why else would Demi-humans be coveted in this way? "There's something about them, isn't there?" He asked the man.

"Yes and no. Demi-humans are practically humans with something extra added in. Depending on what variant they are, however, some Demi-humans are much stronger than humans. Most humans think of them as impure or demon-like."

'Demon-like, huh?' While walking throughout the city earlier, almost every citizen whispered about how they knew that something like this would happen because Naofumi was the newest _Demon of the Shield_. He thought that was stupid. But now being introduced to why Demi-humans are despised by humans, it feels fitting.

The small merchant approached one of the cages that housed a giant, vicious-looking Wolf chained down by its neck. Drool dripped from the beast's mouth as it stared Naofumi down. Naofumi looked closer, analyzing the stats of the wolf.

'Offense-based slave...Lvl 75...race: wolf. Level 75? That's way too high compared to me.' He thought.

"Ah yes! He had wonderful stats, doesn't he?" The man questioned. "Now about the price."

"No, don't tell me." The man paused and looked towards the gloomy hero, staring up at his dark-circle ridden eyes.

Naofumi flashed the man an evil smirk. "You know, for someone I just met, you seem to know a lot about my situation. You know as well as I do that I can't pay for that, yet you showed me the most expensive one."

The smirk on the merchant man's face grew wider, almost contorting. "You are a customer that has developed good eyes." The man chuckles. "How rude of me as a merchant. Why don't you tell me what you're looking for. No one knows a customer better than the customer, after all."

Naofumi began strolling along the cages, his thoughts being overshadowed by the varied growling coming from the demi-humans. "Something cheap...but one that isn't broken...preferably one not for home use." If this slave was going to help him, they need to know how to fight. He paused in his step, thinking harder about what exactly he wanted. His mind instantly filled with the memories of what happened to him earlier. "A male would be nice too."

'I don't want to deal with bitches who leave me in the dust and set me up for failure anymore.' The images of evil expressed on the faces of both Myne, Mio, Motoyasu, and everyone that stood in that throne room that looked down on him and ruined whatever remained of his life within this new world.

The merchant thought about it. "I see...so you want one that's strong in battle but not one particularly great when it comes to skill." The man began wandering before stopping midway and glancing over at the Shield Hero. "About those rumors…" He began.

The menacing but calm demeanor Naofumi had held instantly crumbled as he smashed his hands against an empty cage next to him, a loud clunk ringing throughout the massive tent.

"I didn't do it." The hero growled.

The merchant stayed silent as he watched Naofumi's expression. "I see...you do seem different from the man the rumors spoke of." The man then gestured for Naofumi to follow, entering a room curtained off from the rest of the giant tent.

Naofumi followed without issue, his earlier scowl had softly melted into his much earlier calm and tired expression.

This small and closed off room had a much more different energy than the main area. While the last one held a much more feral and showy energy, this one felt...dark...and cold. Almost like everything kept in here was abandoned. Dusk fluttered all about the space. Naofumi could feel the specs of dust lingering their tiny fingers against his cheek. Regret was starting to slowly trickle its way into the back of Naofumi's mind.

"In this room are wares that are much more affordable for someone like you."

Naofumi's gaze wandered along the cages. These demi-humans looked and felt more human than the bigger much more beastial demi-humans did. There was still some malice and contempt held for Naofumi, he could clearly see that. However, it felt like if _they_ did something, he felt he had at least a fighting chance against these demi-humans.

"These are problematic ones...but they can be trained if you're willing to put in the work."

'This place stinks.' Naofumi noted. He's never really been around death but he could tell just as much as anyone else. 'Knowing my luck about now, I'll probably walk out of here with either nothing or a slave on the brink of dea-'

_Cough! Cough!_

Gross sounds that indicated that someone somewhere was desperately trying to get rid of the thick phlegm invading their throat caught the hero's attention to a cage that held a small being inside. Naofumi moved away from the merchant, catching the man's attention.

"Sir Hero?" He mildly called out.

As Naofumi inched closer to the cage, he got a better look at the being on the inside. It was a little demi-human girl. The Shield Hero looked down at the girl in disgust. Nothing but negative thoughts ran through his mind like maggots congregating on a corpse.

She had raggedy and tangled light brown hair. The girl clearly hadn't seen a bath in days, maybe even weeks due to how much dirt had accumulated on the kid, not to mention the rags she had on. This girl was probably the worst of the entire bunch. Probably had a shelf life of an hour or so given her current state of sickness.

"Hey," He called out. "Raise your head." There was nothing but a cold malice in his voice, something that could send a chill down a child's spine.

The girl, with no other choice, raised her head slowly, revealing her pale face and tea red eyes that were filled with a tiredness not normally seen in a child unless they've been through hell. However, Naofumi didn't really take notice of that, only taking note of one thing: her gender.

'Same as _them_.' He thought. Flashes of a smiling Mio appeared in his head, the images of Myne who seemed appreciative of the thoughtful gesture came next. 'All smiles...just to stab me in the damn back.' He thought.

"Name?" He coldly asked her. The little girl was either confused by the request or simply didn't hear him. Regardless, he asked again with a more stern tone in his face. "I asked for your name. Don't you have one?!"

The girl jumped in fear once her eyes focused on the mean glare Naofumi threw at her. "R-Raphtalia." She answered weakly.

The merchant shifted his glasses. "Hmm. Sir Hero, I'd advise against this. Compared to the Fox variants, Raccoon Demi-humans aren't very popular, especially for battle reasons. They're prone to panic attacks and often suffer from disease. They also have a tendency to just stand there and not really do anything proactive at all. You'd be putting yourself in more danger by relying on one." He then walked up next to Naofumi to continue the speech, looking Demi-human named Raphtalia up and down. "This one, in particular, doesn't really have long to li-"

"That sounds fine." Naofumi interrupted. The hero looked over the young girl who still had a frightened look on her face. 'Problematic but trainable...thin but that could be fixed with some meals here and there...not much of a fighter so she probably won't try killing me. At the end of the day, I could always imagine that it's her.' Referencing the girl that got him into this situation in the first place. Naofumi's glare hardened. "I've decided...'' he turned his attention back to the short merchant. "I'll take this girl."

Raphtalia's eyes widened in fear at the proclamation with some tears welling up in her eyes.

The door to the chantry swung open thanks to Izza and her attitude which was only made worse by the fact that she was greeted by the sight of Silas' face alongside an unnamed sister of the chantry that he was in the middle of a conversation with.

"Welcome back, Sister Iz-"

The blue-haired woman pushed past the two and made way towards the stairs, no doubt on her way to inform Regent Dencourt about what had transpired earlier.

Silas made an amused face as he watched her walk away. "I wonder what's troubling our dear sister now."

Taji walked up beside him with a smirk. "We made a..._small_ detour after leaving the castle is all." The redhead then walked off into the common area.

"Small detour?"

The sounds of struggling behind him caught his attention. Looking towards the doorway, Silas watched as Mio and Rowen struggled to get the very drunk Tamara into the chantry. The blonde rolled his eyes with a sigh of annoyance as he casually approached the three until he was face to face with the bunny demi-human.

"You couldn't even keep yourself sober enough the day you _actually_ meet the Scepter Hero, Sister Tamara? You truly are pathetic." He threw the insult as he flicked the tip of her nose, causing Tamara to let out a drunken giggle.

Mio groaned. "Afterschool special later! Help now, please! She's heavier than she looks."

"Is she?" The blonde looked on with a curious look. With all that muscle, I'd imagine she's just the weight she needs to be."

Mio threw a glare his way causing him to smirk as he switched places with Mio and guided Rowen to bring Tamara to the common area. Taji had made herself comfortable on one of the couches with a small glass of liquor in her hand, casually swishing it around in the dimly lit room.

The two males placed Tamara on another couch, who instantly fell asleep upon making contact with the soft cushions. Rowen plopped down on a nearby two-seater couch next to Mio, both tired from their previous endeavor.

"Jeez, that girl can drink."

"Give her an inch, she'll take a mile when it comes to alcohol." Silas commented, casually sitting on the arm of the couch Tamara was placed on. "So, a full inquiry of what transpired today?"

"I'm surprised you don't already know." Taji replied.

"I do, but I have several versions of what happened and would like to know what _actually_ happened."

The three sat there and silently glanced at each other due to their conversation at the bar. 'Silas sees all' it what Rowen guided them towards in terms of a plan. Mio looked to Taji, who merely shook her head slightly when Silas looked towards Rowen, expecting the youngest and most honest of the group to speak up.

'What do I say?' She thought. 'If he had a hand in this then, of course, he'll want to know how his plan went down.' Then Mio thought about her past life. A video game she played back when she was in middle school. One of the characters, a detective who turned out to be the main villain, was simply covering his tracks and any loose ends by posing as a PI. That thought alone made her a bit more stern. "Well, one of them has to be the right version...right?" She asked, leaning back in her seat.

Silas' gaze stayed on her. "Hmm..." His face formed into one that was in thought before nodding. " I see. It appears it's been a long day for all of you. I suggest you all get some sleep then." Silas stood up. "Regent Dencourt wants Madame Mio's training to begin tomorrow, you'll receive some extra funds and you'll be expected the learn your duties as you travel." He then snapped his fingers and a dark red book with a black writing quill attached to it appeared out of thin air, landing in his hand.

Mio examined the book. There was nothing written on the cover nor were there words accessorizing the pages. It was clear to see, with the quill involved, that Mio was meant to write in this. She shrugged. "And this is for?" Her last word trailing off slowly.

"Note-taking. It's an imperative part of any type of study. I'd imagine this is something common back in your world, yes? You'll have several books with you during your travels and of course, you'll be taught by Sister Izza. Regent Dencourt especially suggests noting any and all experiences with using your abilities."

"Aaand how am I supposed to know what to do with my powers?"

"What do you know to do so far?"

"Say _I give myself to thee_ and then something happens."

"Experiment with that then and write your findings down if you have a short memory. I imagine you'll get much practice on the field. Regent Denocurt will be very interested in what you discover yourself."

"I bet he would." Taji muttered causing Silas to glance over to her with a smirk before he stood and bowed before them all.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some last-minute business to attend to before I turn in. Have a good night." The blonde then walked off.

Once the group was sure Silas was out of hearing distance as well as none of the other chantry members were around, Mio leaned forward in Taji's direction. "How the hell are we supposed to watch him if we're out of the chantry?"

"Relax~" Taji's reassuring words came out like thin smoke off an incense. "We'll be coming back to the chantry many times. Besides, if Izza is suspicious of Silas then she'll do her damnest to make sure he's not trying to _taint_ Dencourt's image. She's a teacher's pet like that." The last sentence was spoken with such condescending vile.

It struck a chord with Mio. "Hey, I've been wondering...if you and Izza can't stand each other, why are you in a coterie together?"

"Hm?"

"You guys seem to hate the very presence of each other. Or at least, Izza can't stand you and you're constantly talking shit behind her back."

"I do NOT talk behind her back." Taji seemed offended at the accusation but then her face flashed delight. "I say all of this stuff to her face too?"

"That...doesn't answer my question."

Taji was silent for a second. "Because the only reason I'm stuck in a coterie with her is so her precious Dencourt can keep an eye on me. I've probably mentioned this before but Dencourt is from Melromarc meanwhile Izza and I are from Oilean Pearl itself."

"I don't…"

"Since we're from Oilean Pearl, we know better on a lot of things compared to Dencourt and he doesn't really like that. Luckily for him, Izza was here to please...and I wasn't. Two birds, one stone...yadda yadda yadda. If Izza plans on playing the teacher's pet then I have no problem being the class clown." There was an evil smirk on Taji's face before she stood up, straightening up her outfit. "I'm going to bed. Rowen, make sure you get enough rest for tomorrow. Izza's going to be leaning on you a lot." The redhead then left the room, giggling as she caught a glance of the unconscious Tamara.

There was a silence in the room before Rowen spoke up.

"Well, we should probably head to bed." Rowen suggested. "We have a lot of leveling up to do before the second wave comes." The boy had a smile on his face but it was clear he was made uncomfortable about the situation. He stood up and left the room, rubbing his antlers as he did so, leaving the sleeping Tamara and Mio along in the common room.

Mio sighed. "This is going to be rough." The Scepter Hero followed Rowen and Taji's lead, heading up to her room.

Upstairs, it seemed that there were still some lingering chantry members roaming around wearing their night attires, all talking in hushed tones but their different conversations overlapping each other.

"Did you hear?" One whispered. "Apparently the Shield Hero has a slave now."

Mio stopped in her tracks once she heard the rumor, her eyes widened.

"_Has_ a slave now? Are you sure _he_ isn't the slave? After today, I'm sure someone took advantage of him."

"He does! Sister Brie saw him go into some ally with some creepy man and come back with a kid."

"Maybe he adopted her?"

"Who would let a rapist adopt a kid, Bo?"

"I dunno."

Having heard enough, Mio decided to approach the two girls. "Excuse me."

The black-haired girl chatting with the other jumped in surprise. The main one talking, a generic blue-eyed beauty with wavy blonde hair looked over, smiling once she saw it was the Scepter Hero. "Oh! Madame Scepter Hero, I didn't realize you were still up."

"Please, call me Mio. I couldn't help but overhear your whispering. What's this about Naofumi having a slave?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Well, one of our older sisters, Sister Brie, went into the capital for some shopping when she saw him with some creepy guy. Apparently, he came out with some little girl. She looked ragged. I heard she had a slave's crest on her. Shield Hero's looking pretty despicable if you ask me." The blonde was incredibly pompous as she spoke while her friend looked at her with innocent eyes.

"Sister Brie, huh?" It seemed even after this whole ordeal, Naofumi's problems weren't ending. 'If someone in the chantry had Naofumi set up then it might be good to start with this Sister Brie person.' Mio's gaze locked onto the blonde. "Where can I find Sister Brie? What does she look like?"

The blonde seemed confused by the question. "Well um...she's got brownish hair and dark blue eyes. She's one of the chantry's double threats, a cleric and a fighter. I think she's asleep right now but she'll probably be up tomorrow to see and the others off...I think."

"You think?"

"Well, Sister Brie is one of the Regent's favorites so she's busy a lot."

There was a mildly intense stare-off between the two women as Mio was seemingly trying to find any noticeable trace of a lie. One of her older brothers was a lawyer and believed in the eyes being the window to a person's soul. Her mother thought that belief was stupid but for her brother, it did get the job done.

The blonde seemed unnerved by this silent stare off but kept eye contact albeit shaky. Bo, the other girl, merely looked on in confusion. She wasn't quite sure what to do in this situation.

_Snap_!

In an instant, Mio's serious expression turned into a soft delight. "I'm being rude. I'm asking you all these questions and I don't even know your name."

_Can I have it?_

"Can I have it?"

The tension that physically built up in the two girls has eased. The blonde was the first one to speak.

"I-I'm Wilhelma and this Bo. We're both clerics-"

"Well, clerics in training in honesty." Bo jumped in.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both. Talking to you two made me realize I should do a better job at meeting you guys. Sorry about jumping into your conversation like that but as a Cardinal Hero, I'm sure you guys know that anything related to other guys is also my business. You guys get that, right?"

The girls nodded. "Of course."

"So, what does Sister Brie usually do?"

Bo tilted her head to the side. "Huh?"

"Wilhelma said that Sister Brie is one of Dencourt's favorites right. Well, I imagine you Sister Izza and it seems clear that she's also one of Dencourt's favorites. Considering she's assigned to chaperone me, I imagine Dencourt likes to keep his favorites busy. So what Brie usually do?"

Wilhelma and Bo thought on the question. Bo spoke up first. "I think she works as his courier. At least within Melromarc. The Regent usually has her deliver important letters and items to others in the capital. Sometimes when he's too busy, she'll sit in for important-but-not-really meetings."

Mio looked over to the blonde, who still was looking away. Her expression was one that was now in deep thought almost as if she had a revelation of some sort. The Scepter Hero took note of that before looking back to Bo, who seemed to be more than happy to provide the Scepter Hero with information.

"So Bo~, do you happen to know who _else_ is Dencourt's favorite?"

Mio had to admit that the thinking expressions that Bo made were kind of adorable. "Well, you already know about Brie and Izza it seems. There's also Brother Silas. He's like...Dencourt's FAVORITE favorite. I think also...Brother Erin is a favorite but he's such a slacker, I don't know why. Hmm...I think there's another…"

As Bo spoke, Mio casually glanced over to Wilhelma, still avoiding eye contact but this time looking towards Bo with the occasional quick glance to Mio. It was very clear that something was up with her and judging by the look she was giving Bo, Bo might've been on her way to name dropping her. Something that Mio was hoping for.

"Um...I think Brother Walter too or maybe his sister, Winry. I'm not sure which of the two. Maybe both."

"I see...well, thank you. Both of you."

Mio then walked off to her room, leaving the two girls in the hallway. Once Mio entered her room, she looked around the room. It was practically like she left it earlier today. It was nice knowing that nobody went through her room while she was gone. A fear that carried from her time as an idol.

The only thing different was the lighting of the room, instead of spilling trying to peek in through the white translucent curtains which was a far cry from the black and gold color scheme of the rest of the manor, the room's lighting was fixed up by a few scattered candles.

The heroine looked down at the book she was given by Silas, thinking of his advice to record what she experiences. She walked over to her new permanent bed, opening the book to the first page. After scribbling a few doodles here and there surrounding the _Property of Madame Mio, Scepter Hero_, the very first thing Mio wrote down in the book was: _I heard a voice and it told me to take their names_. She didn't add anything else to the book.

After a brief pause, she flipped all the way to the back of the book, landing on the back pages. What she wrote on the last page was much different.

_Izza_

_Brie_

_Silas_

_Erin_

_Walter or Winry (maybe both) _

Skipping a couple of spaces, she continued writing.

_The King claims that there were witnesses from the chantry but never said who or brought them forward. _

_Wilhelma says Brie saw Naofumi buying a slave earlier today, a little girl. Lie? Have to see. _

She then stopped writing, placing the notebook in between the bed frame and the mattress, much like she did with her diary back home, before getting ready for bed, stripping down to her bra and panties before getting into the bed, blowing out the nearby candle as she did so.

"I'm gonna find out the truth." She muttered to herself. 'If someone here had a hand in setting Naofumi up, then what's to say that they won't come for me next? Or the others?' She thought.

_This is was q big event for the Infinity Blossoms. This was their first fan meet and greet. All the day and night training, the set meal plans, the alarms, the hours of facial training and idol etiquette classes that they were put through, the constant rehearsals. It all culminated to this moment. Getting to meet the people that it was all for. _

_The fans who spent their life savings on all types of merch, from mugs with the group logo on it to pins with each of the girls' initials. These were the people that believed in them, the people that felt motivated to keep living through their voices._

_The ones that their manager would do ANYTHING to make sure that they kept lining his pockets. _

_"And remember, they'll probably get a little handsy. That's ok because they're your fans. They're not gonna hurt you. They love you~"_

The night seemed to pass by in a blur for Naofumi. When he woke up the next morning, he had almost forgotten he brought a slave last night. _Almost_. The girl had a coughing fit almost every hour on the hour. Naofumi found himself being irritated by it but knew nothing was gonna come out of telling her to keep quiet.

He was able to find an inn where the owner didn't despise his very existence, especially with the appearance of a slave. Speaking of...

Naofumi looked over to the girl. She looked even more tired than before and he knew why. A part of the process of purchasing a slave was making sure they had a slave crest placed on them. Judging from the scream, Naofumi could tell it was a painful experience. The sick part? He enjoyed it a bit. Imaging the little demi-human girl as Myne helped ease his guilt about what was happening to her.

He knew he could never admit that to anyone though...or could he? They already saw him as a villain, should he even care what everyone else felt? He could see Ren and Itsuki's hate-filled glares, Mio's disgusted and shocked look as well as Motoyasu's _holier than thou_ ramblings. Just thinking of it irritated the hell out him.

"Hey!" he shouted. The girl jumped at the rudeness, groggily sitting up on the bed. Her face indicated that no decent amount of sleep had been had last night and Naofumi felt a small pang of guilt...that immediately got overshadowed with a cruel pleasure when a flash of his hated redhead appeared with the same mark and the same exhausted look.

'That's just it.' He thought. 'So long as I pretend it's her, it should be no problem.' He focused his attention back to her. "Come on." He gave her no information on where they were going but the little girl knew she should follow or she'd suffer consequences.

"Sister Izza, you're so lucky~" A fighter whined. "Getting to do all that fieldwork with the Scepter Hero. I don't think you deserve it." He chuckled. "You know you only get that type of special treatment because you're from Oilean Pearl.

Izza was offended and annoyed but it was important that she didn't show Erin her annoyance, he got off on that. Instead, she merely rolled her eyes as she kept her focus on scouring the books for the information that she would need for her new task.

_"As much as I would love to be the one to lead Madame Mio's studies, the waves will be upon us once again and you're the only one of her personal coterie that I can trust. If you need any assistance, I'd look to Brother Rowen for assistance." _

'Rowen is a damn child.' She thought. 'How am I supposed to feel about relying on a..._child_.' To her, she knew he had his reasons.

_"With all due to respect sir, maybe I could bring along someone to assist me other than-_"

_"You know I trust you, right Sister Izza?_"

_The statement caught her Oilean Pearl native off guard, her staring at her superior with widened eyes. The Regent, who had previously kept his eyes focused on some documents as he spoke to her, was now looking up at her with a serious look on her face. _

_"Yes, I know you trust me. You wouldn't have put in charge of Madame Mio if you didn't. Right?"_

_The Regent smiled as he stood up from his desk chair, walking around the desk until he was face to face, an arm's length, with Izza. The older man gently placed his hands onto both of her shoulders, offering her his reassuring presence. _

_"Sister Izza, I expect a lot from the people I trust. Which is why I entrusted such a task to you. It pains me to say this but I cannot trust a lot of the people of our Melromarc congregation. I fear that people are plotting against me." _

_Izza was taken aback. The conversation had with the Mio and the others replaying in her head. 'So he was aware that something wasn't right?' She thought. Something about that idea eased her worries as she flashed a gentle smile, closing her eyes for a brief moment. 'That's good to hear.' It meant that he wasn't some nonchalant fool, ignorant to the things happening around them. _

_"Obviously, you know that recently the Shield Hero was convicted of sexual assault. It's a grievance crime but something else seems to be at play." _

_Izza gave him a confused expression. "You don't think he did it?" _

_"In the past, the Shield Hero has done things...unbecoming of heroes before. I do not doubt that he harmed the princess. But something piqued my interest, the anonymous claims that came from our chantry. Of course, I encourage many of you to do what's right regardless of the house's code of isolation. It appears that this is not the case and I fear that this may be because of a conspiracy set against me." _

_Now Izza was confused. "So wait...you think that Sir Naofumi...hurt that girl but you also think that there's a conspiracy working against you because someone said something? If you believe Sir Naofumi is guilty, then what's the issue with someone coming forward."_

_Dencourt's face turned grim. "It's not simply that. It's a means of undermining my authority. Would you say that I've mishandled the Melromarc chantry?" _

_"No! No, of course not. You've done well with what you've been given. I understand that working within this kingdom might be difficult but I'm sure this is a trial you'll overcome." _

_The Regent smiled at the words. "I couldn't have asked for a kinder trusted acolyte. But I fear my trust may be being abused, I simply don't know by who however. That is why I'm completely entrusting the task to Madame Mio's learning to you. I know I can trust you but I have to keep an eye on others here. Please assure me that you can do this task." _

_There was a brief moment of silence as the two shared eye contact with Dencourt trying to reassure Izza with his and Izza trying to figure out what his plan was. She knew after the conversation she had with the others, it was important for her to pry. _

_"So...do you have an idea on who's trying to ruin your reputation?" She asked curiously. _

_Dencourt seemed slightly shocked at the question, not really expecting Izza to ask something like that. His facial expression turned into one of contemplation as Izza waited patiently for an answer. _

_"I'm not quite sure. If you're so interested, I'll be sure to let you know when I make a break in this investigation. I appreciate you taking an interest, however. The next time we see each other, I expect progress in Madame Mio's teachings." As he spoke, he walked back behind his desk and sat back down. _

_Izza stood there for a moment in thought before her thoughts were interrupted by Dencourt. _

_"Time is of the essence, Sister Izza." He didn't even bother to look at her to give her a stern look like he would do everyone else. Izza nodded before leaving the room. _

This leads up to now, where Izza was looking for the books she could borrow from the chantry's library in order to help with Mio's learning. Izza was grateful for an opportunity such as this but it definitely seemed like more of a two-man job. Of course, she wasn't going to rely on Tamara or Taji but to be asked to rely on Rowen? He was a child!

Now to turn this frustration into a migraine, she had to listen to the mockings of some brat who didn't get enough love and attention from his parents. Definitely one of the younger acolytes of the Melromarc chantry, Erin Deacon was an initiate from Faubrey who wasted no time in brownnosing when it came to the Regent. And the Regent lapped up every second of it. Big or small, he was always plotting something. It made Izza wonder however...

"I bet that if you were from other kingdoms like Melromarc or Faubrey, Dencourt would give you a second look."

There was no reply.

"You and Taji, you know. Dencourt probably put you two together so you'd stay out of everyone's hair. You _pearlies_ are always so pompous about everything."

_Pearlies_. That was the…"slur" that people liked to use against those from Oilean Pearl. Slur or not, there was no reaction from Izza. Erin was becoming irritated. The brunette walked up closer to Izza, inching closer towards her ear with a Cheshire grin.

"I mean, you guys have to be. Sending your own to other chantries. Why? To make sure we're doing it right? Right?!"

"Annoying." She muttered under her breath. Erin, still with the evil grin plastered on his face, merely gave a soft 'hmm?' in response before hearing the book in her hand shut. In a second, the cover of the book met his face quickly, knocking the boy back a bit. "Do you mind? Your breath is more rancid than usual this morning."

Erin immediately cradled his face, letting out a pained noise that echoed throughout the nearly empty library. While his focus was away, Izza smirked, placing the book on her tower of learning materials before scooping them all up and leaving the room.

"Do you even know how to drive, lass?!" Taji's hands were placed on her hips with an amused chuckle as she gazed upon Tamara proudly holding the reigns of the two black and pink filolials that were going to be pulling the Scepter Hero party's carriage.

"Of course I know how!" The demi-human shot back. "I used to raise carriages for money."

The redhead looked on with disbelief. "You mean..._race_ carriages?"

"That's what I said right?"

"No."

The front doors of the chantry opened up with Rowen bringing along some supplies alongside another boy. This was a young man that appeared slightly older than Mio and the others, most likely around his mid to late 20s. He was a pink-haired man whose straight hair reached down to his chin and he seemingly had a permanent melancholy expression on his face.

The two approached the back of the carriage, carefully placing the supplies as the pink-haired man let out a tired breath. "Jeez, does Sister Izza really think she'll need all of these books?"

Rowen offered a nervous smile. "You know how Miss Izza is. She likes to be thorough."

"Well, Madame Mio is certainly going to have her work cut out for her." The man looked around the carriage. "Speaking of the Madame, where is she?"

Taji shrugged. "Probably still getting ready or getting some _words of encouragement _from our dear Dencourt."

The man chuckled. "Sister Taji, a more mature person would hide their disdain for their superiors."

The redhead let out a relieved sigh, a fake one obviously. "Thank goodness I'm not mature, right?" The reply amused the man. "You coming with us, Walter?"

"Nope."

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity~"

"I don't care."

"You're a tough nut to crack, you know that?"

"Winry does it just fine." He kept with the short and sweet answers all while holding this innocent-looking eyes-closed smile on his face, tilting his head to the side as he did so.

The sound of the front door opening again caught their attention, this time it was Izza, all prepared for the journey. However, at the moment, she seemed to be occupied with a small book, mumbling to herself as she approached the carriage.

"Okay, I think that's everything." She looked around. "We're ready to take-...Where's Madame Mio?"

"Eh? We thought she was with you." Tamara answered, slouching a bit at the helm.

Izza looked shocked...and scared, raising a finger as her mouth slowly gaped. "What are you doing?"

"Uhhh...I'm gonna drive." Izza fixed her mouth to say something else but was quickly shot down by Tamara. "Ah, ah, ah! Before you go on your little tangent, I know for a fact that I'm the only one of our group capable of driving. Since Madame Mio's not from our world, she probably doesn't know how to handle filolials either. Rowen's too young to be doing all this. Taji's been driven everywhere since she was a baby and you're probably _kind of_ good at driving but you wanna be able to talk to Madame Mio, considering you're supposed to be her teacher and all."

The explanation caught everyone off guard minus Walter who did his best to hide a giggle.

**_Meanwhile_**

The wooden door to Regent Dencourt office was opened by Silas as he guided Mio into the room. Once she walked past him into the room, Silas folded his hands behind him. "Regent Dencourt, I have brought Madame Mio as you requested."

Dencourt glanced at them for a second. "Ah! Thank you, Silas. Madame Mio, I'll be with you in a second, I just have to finish this letter. Silas, you're dismissed."

Silas nodded before turning to leave, however he paused, leaning in towards Mio. "Do you best...Scepter Hero." He whispered with a smirk before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

"You...wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did." Dencourt finished the last of his letter, setting his quill aside and motioning for Mio to sit in a chair that was definitely not there during his conversation with Izza, but neither of them needed to know that. "I realized that in the heat of all that has transpired, you and I haven't had a proper conversation since your arrival. I know a lot has happened and I wanted to check in on you."

"Oh um...I'm doing...ok, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not quite sure how to process a lot of things that's happening. Between my new...role and what happened with Naofumi, it's just..." She shrugged. "I dunno."

"Well, what happened with the Shield Hero is quite unfortunate indeed but as one of the Five Cardinal Heroes, it's important that you keep focused on the task at hand. Especially since you're the Scepter Hero. Not only will you be required to fight the waves but there are other small tasks at hand that many of your followers will be expecting of you."

"My followers?"

Dencourt nodded. "You'll be the light that many people have yearned for in these dark times and I want you to do your best to bring these people the happiness that they wish for."

"Uhh...I'll try but I don't know what I'm doing."

"Experiment. Unfortunately, past Scepter Heroes have never really kept notes of their work for reasons we do not know but they got the job done. I'm sure you'll do the same. And about the Shield Hero…"

Mio's interest piqued. "What about Naofumi?"

"It may be best to keep your distance from him."

"Do you believe he-"

"What I believe is irrelevant to what I know...and what I know is that if you keep company with him and it'll hinder your progress."

"If this is about the leveling up, Taji already told me."

"No, it's not about that. You'll come to find out that many people in this country don't take kindly to the Shield Hero. Imagine what would happen to your status if you associated with him too often. I don't put too much hearsay in handmaiden gossip but from what I _have heard_, it would seem that the Shield Hero has purchased a demi-human child slave."

Mio was reminded of the same gossip she heard from Wilhelma and Bo, about Naofumi purchasing a slave. Before she signed away the warrant this time, she knew she had to see him to confirm or disprove the rumors. She knew she needed to be wary of Dencourt. She had to believe that Naofumi was set up because nothing lines up. Dencourt could be in on it or not. For now, it was simply important to pretend nothing was wrong.

Not only with Dencourt, but a few other notable people as well. That included his right hand Silas, who may or may not have been the main orchestrator of Naofumi's accusation. The blonde has definitely been a bit more suspicious since Naofumi was practically exiled. Or maybe he was always suspicious. There was just something...off about him.

"You may not truly believe the accusation that has befallen your fellow hero and I suppose I could understand that but...be wary, understood? If he's guilty, it wouldn't be wise to risk being alone with him at any point in time.

"Well...I trust that he's innocent."

The reply piqued Dencourt's interest. "Really? You didn't seem to believe in his innocence during the trial."

"How…?"

"I have some friends that told me about the situation. It came in handy considering you and your party came in late, after all."

"Oh yeah...I had to clear my head. That whole thing happened so fast."

"I'm sure it was an ordeal. Just know, I'm here to offer any assistance or guidance you may need. Don't be afraid to ask."

Mio lingered on his words before offering an innocent smile. "Thank you, Regent Dencourt. I should get going, the others are probably wondering where I am."

Dencourt nodded. "Have a safe trip, Madame Mio. Remember: the world is counting on you and the other heroes." Mio gave a sloppy curtsy before leaving the room and heading towards the carriage where her party was no doubt waiting for her.

**_Back Downstairs_**

The sound of the front door opening once more caught the group's attention and out came Mio in her Scepter Hero attire with black cloak draped over her shoulders. She walked towards the carriage with a purpose, the expression on her face seemed to be one deep in thought.

"Madame Mio!" The calling of her name snapped the Scepter Hero out of her thoughts, causing her to gaze up towards the pink-haired Walterm who bowed before her. "It's wonderful to finally make your acquaintance."

"Oh, hi! It's nice to meet you too…" Her words lingered, waiting for a name.

"Walter. Walter Hendrix of House Hendrix."

"Walter, huh?" One of the names on her list. "You wouldn't happen to have a sister named Winry, would you?"

The man seemed slightly surprised. "Oh, you've met Winry?"

"N-No but I've heard some of the members...talking about how cute you were." She lied. "You seem to be a favorite around here."

Walter laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I guess it's still persisting then. Funny enough, I have an idea on who you ran into. Sister Taylor is persistent...annoyingly so." Walter's gaze slid off to the side in annoyance as he said the last part.

There was an awkward silence before Walter spoke up again. "Well, I should get back to my sister, she and I were put in charge of teaching a few of the younger acolytes today since Sister Izza will be leaving us. I hope you have a safe trip Madame Mio, I'll be praying for your success."

Taji let out a laugh. "What about _our_ success?"

Walter smirked in the redhead's direction. "Yes, yours as well but I don't think a shooter such as yourself needs luck."

"I don't but it is welcome."

Walter chuckled as he began walking away from the group and back into the chantry. Once the front door had closed, Taji focused her attention on Mio, who was still watching the door. The redhead fixed her mouth to say something but then changed her mind, opting to simply climb onto the carriage, taking a seat next to Tamara.

Hearing the shuffling of noise Rowen took it as his cue to get in the carriage, climbing into the back.

"Madame Mio?" Izza called out, catching the hero's attention. "We should get going."

Mio perked up. "Right. Actually! Can we stop in town, I wanna see if Naofumi is still there."

"Huh? Why?"

"I need to see...how he's doing." Mio didn't know if they heard the same gossip she did but just in case they didn't, she wanted to keep the gossip under wraps since she had a feeling they wouldn't take too kindly to rumors about Naofumi having a child slave, true or not. "Maybe I could apologize to him right then?"

Izza seemed as if she was ready to say _no_ but then stopped herself, thinking about what Mio wanted before nodding. "Ok then. We'll head into the capital. We should stock up on supplies anyway." Izza hopped into the carriage followed by Mio, who had a relieved smile on her face.

The Scepter Hero was nervous about this whole idea. Firstly, there was no guarantee that Naofumi was still in the capital but after yesterday, she was sure that all of the heroes were still in the capital after being summoned. Motoyasu was probably still consoling that Myne girl. She couldn't really throw an accurate guess about what Ren and Itsuki were doing but that those two took it a bit more seriously than Motoyasu, she could bet they were training a bit before leaving.

Then there was the issue of how to approach him. Surely, he was still mad at her and probably wouldn't even give her the SLIGHTEST chance to talk. She would have to be persistent. Then came the problem of what to say if the rumors were true. What should she say?

_I came to apologize for not believing you yesterday but fuck you for getting a slave_.

_I came to apologize but clearly you out here doing the most, so I'll see you next week. _

_I was DESPERATELY hoping not to find you with a child slave but fuck you had to have one, huh? _

Her whole being was hoping that the gossip was just that: gossip. She let out a frustrated sigh as Tamara steered the filolials out of the driveway.

* * *

100 house points to whoever can guess how this conversation is going to go...or even _if_ it goes at all. If anyone's noticed Mio's been simply going with the flow since she was summoned and that'll gradually change into her ACTUALLY LEADING her party rather than having them guide her. It won't be a snap-change but there are definitely hints of it starting with her taking notes of who is who.

Also, what do you think went down that night. We all know Naofumi didn't do it but then what happened? I'm curious to see what your guys' guesses are. I'd also like to thank everyone for the follows, faves and comments. 3 3


	7. Character Profiles 1: Mio & Naofumi

_Mio Tanji_

_21 years old_

_Gemini (June 5th) _

_Female_

_Weapon: Legendary Scepter_

_Black hair_

_Brown eyes_

_Fair skin_

_Daughter of two happily married retired singers. The younger sister of a lawyer and older sister to a rowdy middle schooler. Mio is Japanese on her father's side and Korean on her mother's side. Both of her parents being highly acclaimed singers of their respective countries. Many acclaimed critics within the music industry had high hopes for her career as an artist when she debuted in the Japanese idol group known as Infinity Blossoms. For a joke superlatives in her class, Mio was voted most likely to start a fight with God. _

_Naofumi Iwatani_

_20 years old_

_Virgo (August 30th) _

_Male_

_Weapon: Legendary Shield_

_Black hair_

_Fair skin_

_Green eyes_

_The oldest of two boys, Naofumi stands as the older (and considered a lost cause) son of two well-off accountants. A failure in his parents' eyes for quite some time, Naofumi became his younger's brother savior after helping him relieve stress and steer him from getting mixed in with a bad crowd. Seeing as his younger brother was their golden goose, his parents thanked Naofumi with a life of tranquility so long as he __**did**_ _attend college for some sort of degree._

* * *

Naofumi really didn't have a birthday so I just gave him one based on his personality and I went with Virgo. Also, I don't remember if it's ever really specified what his parents do for a living so I kept it vague but also not vague. The next chapter will be a short Naofumi centric chapter with some Raph thoughts sprinkled in there.


	8. His Reasons

When Naofumi purchased the little demi-human girl, he had a plan in mind when his core morals would come knocking.

_Why do you have a slave? _

'Because no one else will fight alongside me and I need someone to be an offensive fighter.'

_Why a little girl?_

'Because she was the only one I could afford.'

_Is that really why_?

'Sure it was. Most of the other slaves were far too expensive. It was also easier to teach a child than it would've been teaching an adult...right?'

_Are you ok with this?_

'Yes.'

_Why?_

'Because...so long as I pretend that she's Myne, it'll be fine.'

_...Really?_

He didn't really answer back, simply standing thinking about his previously mentioned reasoning. In hindsight, the reasoning was faulty. Starting off with the simple fact that Myne and this little girl, Raphtalia, looked nothing alike...not even if you squinted.

There was also the fact that these two had very different dispositions to them. Myne put on a friendly face when they had met at that inn. Now he knew she was a liar but had no clue on what her _actual_ personality was. Well, she definitely did enjoy his downfall. So there was sadism in her.

This little girl was nothing like that, at least at the moment.

"At the moment…'

That was the key phrase that Naofumi picked up on. Sure, this little girl seemed innocent now but who's to say she's not plotting to kill him in his sleep? The slave crest that the slaver placed on her chest made sure that betrayal wasn't an option but it wouldn't be the first time he's been deceived in this hellhole.

After all, the slaver did go on a whole spiel about how "useless" raccoon demi-humans would be. Maybe he was setting him up too. Though he didn't really know how considering slavery is a legal practice in Melromarc but after what went down with Myne, he wouldn't be surprised if they found a way to screw him over with this.

Naofumi looked over to the little girl who was looking over the different weapons hung up on the wall at Erhard's shop. She looked at everything with such curiosity. Naofumi couldn't ignore how adorable it was. It made his initial plan falter. This girl was nothing like Myne.

"Jeez, kid." He heard Erhard sigh. "What're people gonna say when they see you walking around with her?"

The Shield Hero shrugged. "Who cares? They'll talk regardless."

The little girl listened in without making it obvious, she didn't want to risk getting into any trouble for "eavesdropping". Even though they were in the same room and talking at a hearable volume, she's gotten in trouble before for "eavesdropping".

Her new owner, who she came to learn was named Naofumi, seemed odd so far. From the look he gave her from when they first met, she was scared of what he would do to her. The last…"person" that kept her in captivity was a cruel being. One that got off on hurting children, Raphtalia shuddered just remembering the image of his sadistic smile and right after were the terrified expressions of the other children...including-

"Hey kid!" The voice she had quickly become accustomed to snapped her out of her thoughts. The little girl looking over to see her new owner handing her an outfit. Confused, she looked up at him without saying a word.

"Go to the back and put this on." He ordered.

She looked down at the attire and back up at the man before grabbing them and heading towards the dressing room, her body letting out a few coughs as she did so. Naofumi let out a tired sigh.

"I mean, it's not illegal but it's still weird to see a child slave like that." The shopkeep flashed a stern look in Naofumi's direction as the Shield Hero turn in his direction. "You ain't planning nothing weird with the kid, are you?" Naofumi glared at Erhard, a look of offense painting his face. Erhard took the hint, raising his hands in defense. "Relax, just making sure. A lot of sickos out here and I'd hate to let that little girl walk out of here with one."

"Well, you can rest easy. It's nothing like that. That kid was the only one I could afford. She probably would've been dead if I didn't buy her considering how sick she was." Naofumi explained.

Erhard looked over to the door which led to the dressing room. "That bad, huh?"

Naofumi didn't offer an audible response, merely nodded as he leaned against the front counter.

"You think the girl will be able to handle fighting?"

"She doesn't have a choice." He said bluntly.

The sound of tiny footsteps caught the attention of both men as Raphtalia exited wearing the gear Naofumi gave her. She simply stood there as both men took in her new attire.

Erhard offered her a smile and a thumbs up. "Perfect fit!" he complimented.

Naofumi couldn't ignore the tired look in her eyes. He had hoped that it would've worn off after a good night's rest and something to eat but to no avail. It definitely would make him look bad. Not that he should care but he didn't want to admit that a part of him did. He was a little worried about whatever repercussion could come from this.

The Shield Hero huffed before approaching the child. "Alright, now I need you to do something for me." Raphtalia saw nothing but what looked to be him shuffling his arms underneath his cape before the man before her revealed what was underneath.

A balloon monster.

The sight made little Raphtalia jump back in fear with a terrified yelp. "A MONSTER?!"

"It's not gonna hurt you since it's attached to me. All you gotta do is stab it." He told her.

The small brunette looked up at the hero in terror and confusion before looking back down at the orange monster doing its best to nibble away at the man's clothes with fruitless vigor. When Raphtalia looked back up at Naofumi she shook her head rapidly. "N-no! I don't want to." She slowly inched backwards.

Naofumi glared at the child. "That's an order." He stated sternly.

This triggered the slave crest on Raphtalia's chest, the purple lighting overshadowing the sunlight that seeped through the windows as a burning pain pierced through Raphtalia like a knife was being dug into her chest and wiggled around. "Ghnhhh!" Raphtalia did her best to try and hold in the scream that was pleading to be let out; however, the fear of punishment at the hand of this seemingly insane man won out.

Naofumi felt sick at the sight before him but he held in his reservations in exchange for keeping a strong facade. "It will only bring pain." He told her.

Regardless of her fear, the demi-human raised her little blade, the tip pointing towards the monster who was still preoccupied with trying to chew bits and pieces of Naofumi's shirt off. "Gah!" The main, while not as strong as it started, still heavily lingered as Raphtalia stabbed the balloon, piercing its face.

However, this wasn't enough. Naofumi glared down at her. "That's too weak. You need to put your back into it!"

With the pain in her chest still persisting, Raphtalia took a step back before strengthening her hold on her sword and charging towards the ball with full force. This time when her blade pierced the balloon, it exploded and its tattered pieces of fabric drizzled on the floor surrounding Naofumi's feet.

To solidify her job well done, a victory window popped up before the both of them.

_**Naofumi +1 EXP**_

_**Raphtalia +1 EXP**_

Naofumi grimaced. He had learned from his short time with Mio and her group that party members share experience points with their heroes but still, the sight of simply 1 EXP left a damper on his already shat on spirit. Him and Raphtalia had a lot of work to do, he knew that much.

With pain subsiding and her nerves calming down, Raphtalia looked up at Naofumi. "Um…" She barely got a word out before he looked to her with his same grumpy expression and pointed a finger at her.

"Listen up! From here on out, I demand you fight against the demons!" He ordered, getting a scared and slightly teary look from the little girl.

No doubt she was loathing having to go through more of this. More of facing against the very beings that ripped her community apart. The very beings that slaughtered her p-

"And in return, I'll protect you." He added.

This statement brought her out of her terrified thoughts and she looked at Naofumi with a shocked and slight awed expression, tears still adorning the corners of her eyes. "Eh?" She questioned.

Naofumi began walking away from her, heading towards the door. "I paid for you with what little money I finally managed to get and until you pay that off, you're not allowed to die." He told her.

Raphtalia was left standing there, stunned by the words she had just heard. She expected the absolute worst once she saw him and frankly, that thought still hadn't completely left her mind. But there was this glimmer of hope that maybe this man she knows as Naofumi wouldn't be that bad. Was it a naive hope? Of course it was, if the people of this country could be any more crueler to her kind than they already are, they would. But just maybe...this child-like naivety would work out for her.

"What are you doing? Hurry it up!" He called out to her.

The girl was snapped out of her thoughts and began trailing behind him. "Y-yes! Coming!"

Erhard watched on as both of them left his shop. The older man let out a tired sigh before tending to his wares. "What a mess." He muttered.

"Now that Raphtalia's ready, I guess I should stop by a shop for some-" Naofumi stopped in his tracks. Now a wave of conflict washed over him. There was a hint of relief at seeing Mio standing there all dressed in her now typical attire with the addition of a black cloak. Just a hint. However, that hint melted away once he remembered how she "left him in the dust". But compared to the others, he'd rather see her than them, especially that dumb blonde Motoyasu.

Mio's expression was stern as she stared the Shield Hero down. Meanwhile, Raphtalia looked between the two in confusion. Mio looked down towards Raphtalia and looked back up to Naofumi. Her eyes closed with a relaxed smile.

"So it is true?" She asked calmly. Her eyes opened to look at Naofumi. "You have a child slave?"

Naofumi was a little taken back. He somewhat expected a strong look of disgust on her face or some sort of lashing out. But he could clearly see that she was holding something back due to her mildly strained expression.

'Remember Mio: remain calm. Like trying to get a stray from under a car.' The Scepter Hero thought. She began inching towards the duo casually. "You can give me a little props, y'know?"

Naofumi rolled his eyes. "Yeah...thanks for checking before throwing me under the bus...I guess."

Mio shrugged. "Fair enough." Before Naofumi could physically respond, Mio was arm's length away from him and Raphtalia. The little looked up at Mio, the little girl was in slight awe as Mio's attire gave off a pleasant regalness while the cloak sprinkled in some mysterious flavor. It was clear to the girl that these two knew each other and it seemed that there was some sort of bad blood between the two.

Mio kneeled down at Raphtalia's level, offering the little girl a kind smile. "Hi. My name's Mio. What's your name?"

Without noticing, Raphtalia hid a bit behind Naofumi and gently held on to his pants leg for security. "R-Raphtalia."

"Raphtalia." Mio's tone was coated in fascination. "That's such a pretty name...can I ask you something, Raphtalia?"

Naofumi looked down at the girl. He wasn't aware that he was glaring at her. Meanwhile, Raphtalia nodded nervously.

"Do you feel safe?"

"You think I'm hurting her?" Naofumi interjected quickly, not allowing Raphtalia to get a chance to answer.

Mio stood up, looking Naofumi in the face. "Is it wrong for me to ask?"

"You still think I-..." Naofumi stopped, shooting a quick glance at Raphtalia. He knew he shouldn't mention this in front of her. That would only compel her to try and run, slave crest be damned. "You still think I'm guilty?"

"I never said that but think about it. If you saw me or any of the others walking around with child slaves, wouldn't you be concerned about their safety?" Mio questioned him sternly.

He didn't reply. His stubbornness wanted to say that he didn't care but he knew that wasn't true. If the false accusation never happened, he probably would still be his more laidback but caring personality. He definitely would've raised his eyebrows at the news of one of the other heroes having a slave. Hell, even before purchasing Raphtalia, he was disturbed at the idea of being in a society where slavery existed. If he didn't need Raphtalia, he would've never done anything to warrant "needing" a slave in the terms of everyone else who had one.

With no real reply in mind, Naofumi rolled his eyes and looked away. Mio sighed.

"Look, I...don't think anymore. In fact...when I really think about it...I probably never really did. No, it doesn't make up for not standing up for you yesterday and I hope to rectify that."

The Shield Hero looked to his "comrade" with confusion. "What are you on about?"

"You were definitely set up. The more I spent in the chantry, the more it became clear to me. Actually...I have a question: when did you..._purchase_ Raphtalia?"

"Last night...why?"

"That's when I heard about it."

"What?" Naofumi was stunned by the information. The only people he interacted with the whole day were a few shady shopkeeps, those dickheads that tried to rob him, and the slave driver. However, the only person that knew he purchased a slave was the guy who sold her to him...or so he thought.

"Two of the girls were talking about it...and they say someone named Sister Brie was the one who told them _but_ Sister Brie seems to be an errand girl, constantly out and about." Mio's voice trailed off as if she was trying to lead towards the same assumption.

The look on Naofumi's face was one of deep thought. 'Was I being followed?' He thought. He then looked back to Mio. "Why haven't you told the king then?"

"I need evidence of some sort. The king fuuuu…" Mio's voice trailed off as she glanced down at Raphtalia, who looked up at her with innocent large eyes. "_Freaking_ hates you, there's no way he's going to believe me without what _he_ feels is strong enough evidence."

"Hmph. So what do you want from me?"

"Nothing actually. I just...wanted to apologize." She droned on. "You don't have to forgive me-I'd appreciate it-but you don't have to. We all have work to do but I didn't want to be separated for so long without apologizing so...yeah." Mio looked away seemingly flustered.

There was a silent moment between the two. Naofumi was caught off guard. He expected yelling, cursing, he expected to be told off by Mio and instead…

'She...apologized?' Naofumi thought.

His tired eyes looked at her in shock before looking down at the ground. With that apology, his anger towards her melted away, and with that happening he felt...disappointed? 'Why? Do I want to be angry at her?' He didn't understand. He wanted someone to believe him and now here she was. One of the very people he cursed, apologizing for not believing in him.

Mio turned to him, expecting a response of some sort, even if it was an angry one and when nothing did come out of his mouth she let out a single chuckle. "Wow, I guess you really are pissed at me. Look, I mean it. You don't have to forgive me if you don't want to but just know, I'm going to have you vindicated sooner or later. I guess...I hope we do rekindle something cause...it _was_ nice hanging with you."

"Madame Mio?!" The three looked over to see Izza far off calling out to the Scepter Hero. Upon catching sight of the Shield Hero, the blue-haired cleric glared a bit in his direction.

"Well, I was hoping I could talk to you before they found me missing. I guess I'll see you during the waves, ok? Maybe sooner, who knows. Later~" The black-haired heroine walked away and rejoined her group, leaving a scrambled Naofumi and a confused Raphtalia standing there.

The little demi-human looked up to him waiting for some kind of response or, hopefully, an explanation on what just happened. Though, she knew that it was more likely that he wasn't going to tell her. She was his slave after all. She caught his attention when another burst of cough shot out of her throat.

The Shield Hero, snapped out of his thoughts, looked down at her. He was reminded about his next course of action, getting her some medicine. Sleeping in a place other than a dirty cage helped move her cold along a bit, but she needed actual medicine in order to be of any use of him in battle.

"Come on." He ordered coldly.

She glanced at his leaving form before trailing behind him, clutching her little sword.

* * *

So that conversation actually went better than expected. Funnily enough, I was going to have them have another argument which drifted them further apart. Their first argument was literally the both of them being stubborn brats and I would've been bored doing that again.

So Mio apologizes but Naofumi is a little underwhelmed because hearing a "I'm sorry" from her, he wanted a little bit more dramatics. I do want Naofumi to get into more of figuring out if he's really mad at Mio as the negative part of him thinks is his.

I'm going to write about both the escapades of Mio's group and Naofumi's group, sometimes in the same chapter and sometimes they'll have chapters separately. Next chapter we'll definitely be seeing more of Mio's abilities and dive more into its mechanics.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed the chapter (I know it was short compared to others) and I do hope you guys are doing your best to keep yourselves sane in these trying times. Sometimes just existing is all you need to do.


End file.
